Ultimate Betrayal
by boswifedeb
Summary: A phone call in the middle of the night is rarely a good thing. An untimely death in the Novelli family leads to a trip to New York and the revelation of a betrayal that shatters some family bonds and makes others stronger than ever before. **Immediately follows "Where There's Smoke"**Rated T.
1. Chapter 1

**Ultimate Betrayal**

****Immediately follows "Where There's Smoke…"****

"**Death, the one appointment we all must keep,  
and for which no time is set."  
Charlie Chan **

**CHAPTER 1**

Fumbling for the phone, Matt glanced at the clock on the nightstand: 1:17AM. "Yeah, Houston." He heard sobbing on the other end of the line. "Hello?" When the sobs continued he looked at the caller ID on the phone and turned on the lamp. "Vince? What's wrong?"

"Paulie…" The former LAPD detective sobbed some more.

"What happened?" Matt sat up on the side of the bed and CJ scrambled across to sit next to him, her hand on his back.

"He's dead, Houston, he's dead!" Vince lost it again. Matt hit the speaker button and CJ immediately teared up as she heard their friend crying.

"Vince…" Matt's voice caught in his throat as he thought about his friend's almost eighteen year old son. "What happened?"

"They called Five-0 - Steve and Danny came and told us…" Novelli tried to pull himself together. "He was found in Central Park."

The Houstons looked at each other: Vince wasn't talking about his son, but his brother Paul that his son was named after. "Are you still in Honolulu?"

"Yeah." It was obvious that the man was trying to pull himself together and Matt could now hear wailing in the background – the sound of Rosa Novelli reacting to the news.

"I'll be there as soon as I can, bud. You take care of Mama, okay?" After being reassured that he would, Matt hung up and dialed his uncle's number. "Uncle Roy, we have to make a trip." He told the former CIA agent what little he knew, knowing that he would want to be there to comfort Rosa. The pair had been dating exclusively for over a year and Roy wanted to marry her.

"I'll meet you at the airport." The normally jovial voice of the seventy two year old was full of grief. He immediately got dressed and packed a bag.

As Matt began getting dressed, CJ started packing clothes for him. Knowing that he would stop in LA on the way from Honolulu to New York, she spoke. "We'll meet you at the airport when you stop to refuel." After getting dressed Matt added a bullet proof vest, holster, and Glock to the bag along with plenty of ammunition. "Expecting trouble?"

"Just being careful." He zipped up the bag and pulled her into a hug. "Try to get some sleep. See you later." After the pair shared a kiss he stroked her cheek. "Love you, Babe."

"Love you. Be careful." She watched as he headed down the hallway and heard the kitchen door close as he went to his truck.

As Matt went through the gates at the bottom of the driveway of the sprawling ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains, he thought about what he knew about Paul Novelli. Like his older brother Vince, Paul had entered the Air Force straight out of college where he had earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science. After serving his country for four years in Germany where he had been a military policeman, he got a job with the NYPD, starting out on patrol and then moving to a coveted position with the Computer Crimes Squad. Paul had been recruited by a private security firm about three years before and had left NYPD for the higher-paying job. Houston and Vince had talked to him via video chat not long after the transfer and he referred to his job as "making sure the rich guys that don't know how to use a computer don't get hacked or scammed." He was seemingly happy and had even gotten engaged three months ago to a young woman who worked for an advertising agency. The wedding was due to take place the following spring. Naturally, Rosa had been excited; she had spent a lot of time urging Paul to settle down and start a family of his own.

After arriving at the airport, Matt filed a flight plan, oversaw the fueling of the plane, and was in the midst of a preflight inspection when Roy pulled up and parked at the hangar. He silently hauled his baggage up the steps of the plane, not stopping to talk to his nephew, who was surprised, but continued on with his work. Once finished, he boarded the jet and closed the hatch. Roy was sitting in one of the seats staring out the window. Putting a hand on his uncle's shoulder, the younger man spoke quietly. "You okay?" Roy nodded, but didn't speak, instead continuing to stare out the window and Matt knelt at his side, worried that the excitement might have had an effect on the older man's heart. "Hey…" He swiveled the chair slightly to see his uncle's eyes brimming with tears.

Trying his best to choke back his emotions, Roy cleared his throat. "Sorry."

"You know, you're not with the CIA anymore. It's okay to show a little emotion – especially at a time like this." He patted on his uncle's hand and was surprised when Roy pulled him into a hug, the sobs rolling through his body silently. It was a first for Matt; Roy had always been the calm, controlled voice of reason and the only time the younger Houston had seen him as close to being upset so badly was when he thought that his own son Will was dead. The two stayed that way for a couple of minutes, Matt patting his back. Eventually Roy settled back in the seat, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping his eyes.

"Sorry." He looked at Matt and shook his head. "Rosa called me when I was on the way over here…I'm scared, Mattlock. She's…" He waved his hands. "I'm worried about her."

"I am, too. That's why I thought you should come along. She's gonna need you." Matt continued to pat Roy on the shoulder. "Tell you what: how about you pour yourself a little bracer and come up front to keep me company – and out of trouble." He gave the older man a lopsided grin. "You know I need that since CJ isn't with me right now."

"Damn good idea." Roy got out of his chair and went to the galley, pulling down a bottle of whiskey and pouring himself half a glass before following his nephew to the cockpit of the plane. He watched the younger man as he prepared for takeoff and was given clearance, then piloted the plane smoothly into the air.

Matt checked the time: it was almost 3:00AM. The flight to Hawaii would take five hours and would put them getting there at 6:00AM Honolulu time. Once he was out over the Pacific, he hit the autopilot and shifted in his seat, popping his back and heaving a sigh of relief. "All I got from Vince was that they found him in Central Park…you?"

"Yeah, she wasn't really able to talk too much." He took another slug of the bourbon and got more comfortable in the seat. "She just…she said she needed me."

"I'd say she's right. You know CJ talked to her for you about the marriage proposal." Roy had asked him a week or so before if he and his wife would talk to Rosa about accepting the proposal. "She said she'd think about it."

"Uh huh. That's what she said before." Roy took another sip, feeling the smoothness of the Tennessee whiskey as it began to warm him. "I need her, too, Matt."

"I know you do." He reached across and patted his uncle on the shoulder. Although he had wondered before what Roy would do if he did marry Rosa, he was pretty sure the result would be his uncle's retirement from the detective agency and a move to Honolulu. Mama wasn't about to leave her family. She had moved to LA a few months after Vince had been accepted by the LAPD. Her husband had died years before and all of her sons were either working or in college and away from home; the house that the Novelli boys had grown up in was too big, too lonely, and too full of memories of her deceased husband. Unlike a lot of wives, Vince's wife Isabella had been thrilled for her mother-in-law to come live with them. They had worked together to open the Novelli's restaurant that had been an instant hit in LA. Vince's four sons – Paul, Michael, Vince Jr., and Tony – were named after the previous generation of Novellis. Rosa was used to the hustle and bustle of a house full of boys and had come back to life after the move.

Matt snuck another glance at Roy who was sipping the whiskey again. Will Houston - Roy's son - had been like a brother to Matt when they were growing up and the two had spent part of their time in the Army together in the same unit. During an ambush where Matt was severely injured, Will had been taken prisoner by the enemy in Iraq and it wasn't until years later after Houston and Roy were reunited that Matt had found out that his cousin was still alive and still a prisoner in Afghanistan. He had led a raid and brought the man back home and there was a reunion of sorts, but his time as a POW had changed Will. He still loved his family, but for the most part tended to be a loner. Although Roy had never said anything, Matt knew that it hurt the older man not to have his son around more. Almost afraid to ask, he did nevertheless. "Have you talked to Will?"

Roy shook his head no. "Not yet - didn't figure there was any point in waking him up in the middle of the night." They were silent. "Don't blame him, boy. He's got his reasons." The elder Houston knew what his nephew was thinking.

"Maybe I shouldn't – but I do, Uncle Roy. I'll admit I wasted a couple of years when Daddy and I were butting heads when I moved to LA…and that's why I think I've got the right to say he's wrong." There was a catch in his voice when he spoke again. "I've made several mistakes in my life. Not talking to him for almost two years and waiting so damn long to let CJ know how I felt are the two biggest regrets I have. Every time I look at Catey it gets me – he should have still been around to know her – and now the boys."

"Even if you had come to your senses sooner, you don't know that he would have been around. He had heart trouble for years. We never know what tomorrow holds – we just have to hope for the best and hold on like hell." He knocked back the rest of the whiskey. "You know, I always wanted to learn how to fly one of these contraptions." Giving Matt a grin he looked over at him. "Maybe when things calm down a little bit you can teach me."

"I'd be happy to do it." They got quiet again and in a few minutes he heard his uncle's breathing get deeper and looked over to see that he had fallen asleep. Going back to the passenger cabin he retrieved a blanket from one of the closets, bringing it back to the cockpit and carefully covering him. After returning to his own seat, Houston continued to watch the radar and keep an eye out the windshield of the G-550, all the while wondering just what in the hell had happened to Paul.

Just before he landed, Matt gently shook Roy awake. "Hey, we're here." The elder Houston nodded and straightened up in the seat, realizing then that there was a blanket on him.

"I wasn't much company, was I?" He folded it.

"You needed the rest…not to mention the Jack Daniel's kinda has a way of doing that when someone has an empty stomach." He gave his uncle a grin and began the landing process. A few minutes later they were taxiing to the hangar where Vince and two of his sons – Paul and Tony – were waiting for them. After opening the hatch, Matt allowed his uncle to deplane first and then stopped to speak to the driver of the fuel truck. Tony had headed across the tarmac carrying a couple of suitcases as soon as the hatch was popped and was the first to reach Roy, who received a big hug. Vince and Paul were headed that way with more luggage and both stopped to embrace Matt's uncle. Tony boarded the plane and stashed the luggage, coming back out to meet up with his hero as he oversaw the refueling.

Catching sight of the boy out of the corner of his eye, Houston wasn't prepared when the now eleven year old ran the last few feet and threw his arms around him, causing him to nearly loose his balance. "Easy, pard." Matt held him tight. The others had put the luggage on board and walked out to join them, Vince and Houston immediately hugging each other. Paul was next and it was apparent to Matt that the teen was trying extremely hard not to cry.

"They'll be here in a few minutes. Mama wanted to stop by the church…" Vince's voice trailed off and he swallowed hard. He looked back over at the man that he considered a brother just as much as he had Paul. "I really hated to call you like that."

"Don't – that's what brothers do, remember? I made that call not too long ago." Matt thought back to a couple of months earlier when a rogue cop and dishonored FBI agent had conspired to kill him as well as CJ and Catey. There was a moment of awkward silence. "Have you heard anything else?"

Nodding, Vince fought to control his emotions. "Tony called after he had managed to talk to one of the detectives." Tony was a Catholic Priest and like his brothers Paul and Michael, had remained in New York City after Vince moved to LA. His voice cracked as he spoke. "They're saying it was suicide." He shook his head.

"That's crap and you know it, Dad!" Vince's youngest son Tony exploded with anger.

"Watch it, son. I know you're upset but you're going to have to keep that mouth in check. You don't want to upset Grandma any more than she already is, alright? And just so you know, I think it's crap, too."

"We all do." Paul put his hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Tony told me to call him when we get airborne so he can fill us in a little bit more. He figured that would give you a chance to start working the keyboard."

"I'll sure do it." Houston looked toward the hangar as Isabella pulled up in the family's van and he and the others walked that way, Roy in the lead. The older man opened the door for Rosa and was immediately embraced as she once again began crying. Isabella and the two other boys both greeted Matt, Vince's wife trying hard not to cry as were Michael and Vince, Jr. "Are y'all ready to load up?" Everyone nodded and Rosa finally pulled away from Roy and then put her arms around Matt who pulled her close and rocked her. After a minute he pulled back a little bit. "Mama, I need to ask you a favor."

"What?" She dabbed at her red-rimmed eyes with a tissue.

"I know this is a rough situation, but I'm worried about you; try to calm down a little, okay, darlin'?" He took both her hands in his. "We're going to get to the bottom of this, I promise you. But you calm down and take care of yourself for me, huh?"

"I'll try."

"Okay." Matt looked up as a black Camaro pulled up to the hangar and two familiar faces got out. Steve McGarrett and Danny Williams of the Five-0 Task Force quickly made their way over to the group, Danny immediately hugging Mama.

"I'm so sorry, Mama." He kissed her cheek.

"Thank you, Danny."

Matt and Williams shook hands as Steve pulled Rosa into a hug and kissed the top of her head. "You take care of yourself, okay? We don't want Danny to starve." He gave her a little smile, which was returned tearfully. "You've got the best help there is." Steve nodded in Houston's direction and looked at Vince. "If you guys think of anything you need call me – I don't care what time it is, you got me?" He and Vince shook hands.

"Can I talk to you two for a minute?" Danny looked between Matt and Vince. The three walked a short distance away. "I've got contacts in New York and New Jersey. Call me if they give you any crap, understand?"

"I appreciate it." Vince nodded.

"And give CJ a hug for me, okay?" He looked at Matt and gave him a grin.

"We aren't getting divorced, Gnome – give it up." Matt gave him a smile, teasing him with the nickname he'd been given when they had worked a case together.

"Don't – even – go there, you…" Danny shook his head. "Seriously, though. Like Steve said – no matter what time it is, alright?"

"Thanks, bud."

Matt shook hands with Steve and the two embraced. "I meant what I said – I might be able to help you get access to something that you need, if you know what I mean."

"Much appreciated." Matt looked at his watch as a truck from the airport pulled up and a beautiful young native woman carrying a couple of pastry boxes approached the group.

"Mr. Houston?"

"Yes ma'am." He took the boxes. "_Mahalo_, hon."

"You're very welcome_. Aloha_." She turned and walked off.

"Junior…" He used his pet name for Vince, Jr. "You're in charge of these: don't drop 'em." As the boy took them from Matt he could smell the aroma of pastries.

"Yes sir." He headed for his uncle's jet as did the rest of the group, Vince holding his mother's hand as Roy had an arm around her waist. While everyone boarded, Matt and Paul gave the plane another pre-flight going-over before boarding and closing the hatch.

Vince joined his best friend in the cockpit and after receiving clearance for takeoff, the PI got the plane into the air and once out over the Pacific and away from the traffic, he once again put the plane on autopilot. "Want to call Tony?" Vince nodded and pulled out his cell phone as Matt pulled a pen and notebook out of his back pocket.

"Hey, we're in the air." He listened. "Hang on a second." Looking back over his shoulder at his youngest son, he spoke. "Close the door, pal." Tony immediately did as he was told. "I'm putting you on speaker." Punching the button he told the priest to go ahead.

"Okay, I still don't know a lot. These detectives are really tight lipped. All they've told me so far was that he was found by a homeless man at the Turtle Pond near Belvedere Castle in the park. It looks like he shot himself." The emotion in the man's voice couldn't be disguised. "Houston, none of us believe that Paulie would do that."

"I don't either. When was the last time you talked to him?" He had already written down what the priest had told him so far.

"Monday - we had lunch together." Tony paused for a minute. "I was teasing him about getting cold feet – was he sure he wanted to marry Clarissa, and he was all smiles. Said he couldn't wait." His voice cracked and Vince had tears in his eyes once again.

"Did he say anything about having problems with anyone – personal or at work or anything like that?"

"No, he was on cloud nine. The smile never left his face."

"Did he mention anything he had been doing on the job?"

"No."

"Did he have a roommate?"

"No, he had a little one bedroom apartment. He and Clarissa had already started apartment hunting. It can be tough to find one around here – you have to have plenty of time."

"Uh huh." Matt was quiet as he thought. They really didn't have much to work with and he looked at Vince, knowing he was thinking the same thing. "What about Michael? Have you talked to him?"

"No…" Houston knew by the sound of the priest's voice that something was up. "He, uh…well, lately he's been…"

"He's been a jackass is what he's been." Vince spoke up.

"Vince…" Tony started.

"He has, Tony – however you want to say it, it works out to the same thing." The former cop's voice shook with anger.

"I know you're upset but that isn't going to help anything at this point. Please? If not for me than for Mama; she's fragile enough already."

"Yeah, I know…" Vince hung his head. "Sorry."

"Hey, I understand, big brother." Tony leaned back on his sofa as he spoke, recalling how he and Vince had shared a lot of talks over the years where he had used that term. "I don't have anything else. These folks aren't turning loose of very many facts, Houston. Thanks for helping us out. I know Mama and Vince claim you as one of the family and I do, too."

"I appreciate it. Just keep an ear to the ground for us, okay?" They wrapped up the call and Matt sent Tony back for his laptop and began working the keyboard but with very little success. The internet connection wasn't good and he put the computer away. "Maybe we'll have better luck after we take off from LA again." They really didn't have enough to work with as it was and the aggravation of a bad connection wouldn't do much for Vince or anyone else.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

It was 1:30PM in Los Angeles when Matt landed the jet at LAX and was met by not just CJ, but Sheila, Catey Rose, Tomás Sergio, and Michael Hoyt. As the group deplaned, they found that the lawyer had not been idle while waiting on her husband's return, but arranged for lunch to be brought in by the owners of Ricardo's Mexican Restaurant. Tables had been set up inside the hangar, and after welcoming the Novellis, she took charge of making sure that Rosa ate. When everyone had been fed, Matt went back out to give the plane yet another preflight check and was accompanied by Vince, Paul, and Hoyt.

"Have you found out anything else?" Hoyt watched as Matt and the other two inspected the landing gear of the jet.

Vince shook his head. "No." They walked on around the plane and continued the inspection, both noting that Matt stopped to pop his back before continuing. They exchanged a look and Michael jerked his head away from where the PI and Vince's oldest son were talking about the jet.

"I don't have any contacts in New York." Michael looked at his friend.

"Danny Williams told us to call if we needed some help…he's still got friends there and in New Jersey."

"Good." They watched as the PI stepped back away from the jet and rubbed the back of his neck as he continued to look it over. "I don't think he got much sleep last night – he was helping me until about 11:00."

"And I called him a little after one. I'll take care of this trip – looks like Superman needs a nap." The pair exchanged a grin.

"I don't know how he does it. He's constantly on the go between helping Rich and me and taking his classes – not to mention working with Derwin – and practically half of the Feds."

"Don't know…" Vince looked toward the hangar where CJ stood watching her husband with a worried look on her face. "Good thing he's got CJ or I don't think he would be able to pull it off."

"It's a good thing he's got CJ in general – who are you kidding?" Hoyt watched as Matt wandered back over toward the hangar and took Catey Rose into his arms and began talking to her. Cursing as his phone rang, the detective answered. "Yeah, Sanchez?" He rolled his eyes. "Alright…yeah, tell him I'll meet him there in about fifteen minutes." Hanging up he held out his hand to Vince. "Let me know if there's anything I can do, okay?"

The former cop shook it and the two hugged. "Thanks. Be careful out there."

"I'll do my best." Hoyt turned and walked to Houston and the pair shook before the cop received a kiss from Catey and then said goodbye to the rest of the group before heading out to the call.

After saying goodbye to Catey and Sheila, the group boarded the jet. As Matt headed toward the cockpit, Vince put a hand on his shoulder. "How about you let me take this leg of the trip, Ace?"

Matt looked at him. "Are you sure you're up to it?"

"I'd say between Paul and me we've got it covered. Go kick back for a while."

"Thanks, bud." Houston went on back and sat down on one of the long bench seats next to the youngest Novelli boy and buckled his seat belt as CJ gave Vince a smile and mouthed the words "thank you" before settling in next to her husband who had pulled out the notebook he had used earlier to record the information provided by Tony. Mama and Roy were seated next to each other across from them as the rest of the group divided up and settled into their seats as well.

Five minutes into the flight as CJ was working the keyboard of the laptop she spoke to Matt. "I'm really not coming up with a whole lot, hon." Looking over at him she had a slightly worried look on her face: he was sitting with his head tilted back asleep. She quietly spoke to Tony. "Hey buddy, do you mind grabbing one of those pillows and a blanket? Your Uncle Matt needs to stretch out and get some rest."

"Yes ma'am." The eleven year old got up and got the items and helped his aunt ease Matt down on the bench seat. He never woke up.

Mama watched from across the way and spoke to CJ as she moved over to sit next to her and Roy. "I'm sorry, CJ."

"Nah, he's just had a really busy couple of days without much sleep. A nap should fix him up." She continued to work the keyboard. Thinking about what little they knew of what had happened to Paul, CJ began looking first into the company that he worked for, Quad S Cyber Security Solutions. Started ten years before by two friends who had met while in the Army, Quad S had an excellent reputation and handled data encryption, internet and email security, as well as onsite security. Some of the clients who used the firm were not only national corporations but global as well. When Paul Novelli had made the jump from the NYPD it appeared that he had made a wise as well as lucrative choice.

The founders of the company were Scott Sage and Shannon Swafford – thus the Quad S name. The pair had come up with the idea of the company while still in the service and had refined the plan during their days in the Army. As soon as they were both discharged, they set up shop in a small office in Brooklyn. It didn't take long for their customers to see the value in their services and the reputation of the company had grown as had its size. In four years' time they had moved to Manhattan and were handling some of the most well-known corporations. It was around that time that they had incorporated.

After looking over to check on her husband, CJ went back to the computer. Scott Sage was now forty years old, married, the father of two girls and the owner of a lavish apartment on the Upper East Side overlooking John Jay Park and the East River. Knowing the business that the man was in, she decided it wise not to attempt a look into his financials at that point. If something should point them in his direction later, she would make a try at it.

Moving on to Shannon Swafford she found that he was the divorced father of one son and lived in a very nice apartment on West 66th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and West End. Not much else was available on the man.

Sighing, she looked across at Matt again and he was sleeping soundly. After looking around the cabin, she noticed that Isabella, Michael, Vince Jr., and Tony were all talking with Tomás and they seemed to be getting along well. _That's good._ The boy had been almost painfully shy when the Houstons had taken temporary custody of him and she thought that the school that Matt had found for him was helping him a lot, not just academically but socially, and he now had his first girlfriend. It was obvious that he had learned how to disappear and blend in with his surroundings while homeless and it was good to see him coming out of his shell. Both she and Matt had planned on talking to him that night about his future, but it might not happen – at least that night. But they would definitely be talking.

CJ's phone buzzed and she answered the call from the Clariday Arms Hotel located on Madison Avenue just east of Central Park. After confirming that they were on their way, she was assured that their transportation would meet them at Teterboro Airport in the Meadowlands. Hanging up, she got up and went to the cockpit where Paul was in control of the jet. Vince glanced back as she came inside, closing the door behind her.

"Are the boys behaving?"

"Absolute gentlemen – of course." She gave Vince a big smile as he rolled his eyes. "I've tried looking into Paul's bosses a little bit but given their area of expertise, I'm not going extremely in depth unless we feel the need – don't want to raise any red flags."

"What about Superman?"

"He lasted all of five minutes. Thanks for taking the controls – he's had about four hours of sleep in the last two days."

"He's getting too old for that, CJ." Vince reached up and patted on her belly, feeling the babies move for the first time and grinning. "Rowdy today, huh?"

The lawyer shook her head. "No, this is tame compared to their hijinks at 4:00 in the morning."

"Bet they're gonna be as hard headed as their dad."

Paul spoke up. "…And their mom." He snickered as his aunt thumped him on the back of the head then kissed his cheek.

"Oh, and I've got us booked in at the Clariday Arms. We've got the penthouse suite. I figured that way it would be easier to keep up with all the boys and get some work done, too."

"Wow…" Paul cut his eyes over at his dad. "That place is classy." He gave a low whistle.

"I really appreciate it." Vince's expression became serious again. "How's Mama doing?"

"You might want to come take a look for yourself." She gave him a smile.

"Keep it steady, son – be right back." Following CJ out to the passenger cabin he saw his mother with her head resting on Roy's shoulder, and his head tucked down on hers, both napping. Then he looked over at Matt whose right arm had slid off of the bench and was dangling in the air. CJ went to him and tucked it back up by his side, covering him back up again. "Guess I better go keep an eye on the Red Baron." Vince gave her a smile and headed back to the cockpit.

After nearly five hours, Matt was much refreshed when CJ awoke him before they landed, although he looked a little sheepish at having crashed. After they landed, the group moved to the two vans that had been sent to pick them up and headed to the Clariday Arms, checked in, and went to the penthouse suite where the boys were amazed not only by the view but by the suite itself. Vince pulled them aside, Tomás included. "You guys need to stay out of trouble. We've got a lot of work to do and I don't want to be interrupted by someone acting up. Got it?"

All five replied together: "Yes sir."

"Alright. CJ made sure that you've got access to the essentials…" He grinned at the puzzled looks on their faces. "There's a fridge in there with drinks and snacks…and oh yeah - Cyber Connect Games."

"Yes!" The boys high-fived each other and headed toward the large room that they would be sharing.

Tomás alone stayed behind. "Mr. Novelli?"

"You can call me Vince, kiddo. Whatcha need?"

"I was wondering if there's anything I can do to help."

As Vince looked at the boy, something about his eyes reminded him of Matt. He knew what a good artist the boy was and nodded. "Actually, I think I might have something that would suit you to a tee. C'mon." He put an arm around the boy and led him over to where Isabella, Roy, and Mama were sitting on a sofa. It was then that the doorbell rang.

Matt, who along with CJ had been checking the security of the internet connection, went to it. Vince noticed for the first time that there was a Glock sitting in the waistband of his friend's jeans and as he went to the door to look out, the PI reached back for it, flipping the safety off until he saw who was on the other side of the door. Quickly switching the safety back on, Houston opened the door to Father Tony Novelli, Vince's youngest brother. The two men shook hands and Matt closed the door and he and CJ joined the Novellis as mother and son were reunited amid hugs and tears. "Tomás, maybe you better go on in with the other boys for right now." Houston spoke quietly.

Looking up, Vince smiled at the boy. "I haven't forgotten. We need to talk a little bit first and then I'm going to need your help."

"Yes sir."

"I don't think I've had the pleasure…" The priest turned to the boy and held out his hand. "Tony Novelli."

The teen shook it. "Tomás Sergio."

"Nice to meet you. Vince has told me you're quite the artist."

"Well…" The boy blushed and looked down.

"He is…" Matt put a hand on his shoulder. "…and he's a smart one, too." He gave the boy a smile. "Why don't you head on back for right now, bud?"

"Yes sir." The fifteen year old did as he was told and Matt along with CJ sat down on the sofa opposite of Roy, Isabella, and Mama.

"Nice kid." Tony noticed a look and a smile that passed between CJ and Matt. After sitting down in a chair he spoke again. "I haven't had any luck trying to get more information out of the detectives."

"Paulie isn't their only case and they're probably just as stuck as we are until they hear something back from the ME." Vince nodded, thinking back to how hard it had been when he was on the force. "CJ - why don't you tell them what you told me on the plane?"

The lawyer nodded and then told what little she had on Paul's employers and her reasons for not wanting to delve any deeper unless the need arose. Matt, whose right arm was across the back of the sofa gently massaged her right shoulder, giving it a squeeze before moving his arm and leaning forward. Just as he opened his mouth to speak the doorbell rang again and he went to answer it, everyone noticing this time as he repeated the action with the Glock, and then once again engaged the safety and opened the door to Vince's other brother Michael, who ignored the offered hand and instead strode across the room to his mother as Houston closed the door - an action that didn't go unnoticed by Vince who stared angrily at the man.

After greeting his mother, Paul squeezed his way onto the sofa, a move which made Roy sitting there practically impossible and the elder Houston moved to go sit next to CJ on the opposing couch, making Vince even angrier. "Hey –…" He was stopped by a touch on his arm by Roy who shook his head.

The older man spoke quietly. "Let it go, Vince." He went over and sat down on the other side of CJ who reached over and took his hand. She as well as Matt knew that Michael Novelli was the main reason why Rosa hadn't accepted Roy's marriage proposal. For some unknown reason the stock broker disapproved of the union. Matt settled in on the couch next to CJ and watched as the muscle in Vince's jaw worked as he tried to follow Roy's advice and not cause a disturbance.

"I just don't understand why it's taking them so long to deal with all of their paperwork." Michael gave a dismissive wave of his hand as Tony began to speak, which only angered Vince more and he exchanged a look with Roy and Matt.

"They're overworked and don't have all the information they need yet, Michael." The former detective was doing his best not to speak in an angry tone.

"Pffft…that's the standard line, isn't it, Vince? How many times did you use it?"

"Excuse me?"

Mama spoke up. "Michael, that's how it is. They can only work with the information they have. Many times I've seen these two working so hard to find out what happened to someone but when they get the information they need from the medical examiner the case comes together." She had indicated Vince and Matt.

"Sure, Mama, sure." He looked at his watch as if in a hurry. "So we don't have any idea yet when the funeral will be?"

"Not until the autopsy is done." Tony spoke up as he saw how hard Vince was trying to control himself.

"Well I guess a church funeral is out of the question after all this." Michael looked at the other Novellis as the room fell silent.

"Paulie didn't commit suicide." Vince's voice was full of rage and Rosa had begun crying again, being pulled into a hug by Isabella who looked over her mother-in-law's shoulder at Michael, giving him a reproachful stare as she tried to calm the distraught woman.

"Well we don't know that for sure, do we, Mr. Detective? Oh I'm sorry – former detective." Michael's tone was scornful.

"Michael!" Mama turned to face her son. "You apologize right now!"

"For what? He isn't a detective anymore – that's all I'm saying." His gaze then drifted across the room to Matt. "And I guess we all know why."

Houston's face went pale. After Vince was nearly killed while working a case with the PI, his life had been turned upside down: aside from the pain that went along with his gunshot wounds, he was left a diabetic and unable to remain part of the LAPD. Matt had felt a tremendous amount of guilt over the whole situation even after Vince, Isabella, and Mama all three had insisted that it could have just as easily been him who had been shot and wounded. It was still a tender subject with him and he suspected he would feel guilty until the day he died.

Vince jumped up out of his chair and went after his brother, while Tony stepped between the two. "No! Now both of you sit down. Sit!" He pushed his brothers apart as Mama sat with a shocked expression on her face, the tears even heavier now. Continuing to stand between the two even after they resumed their seats the priest looked back and forth between them. "Michael, no one was at fault for Vince's injuries except for the men who pulled the trigger – it's all in the past. Now apologize."

"Oh, so because little brother is a priest I'm supposed to get on bended knee and ask for forgiveness?" Michael's eyes glinted with mockery.

"Michael, please!" Isabella looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Guess we don't want to upset the money-man, do we?" The stockbroker glared at Matt once again.

Matt stood, his face still white with anger, and CJ clutched at his hand. "CJ, I think we need to give them some privacy. Come on." He helped her up off of the couch, much to her surprise: she had fully expected him to launch himself across the living room of the suite and beat Michael Novelli more senseless than he already was. The couple quietly walked toward the bedroom that they were using.

Mama had jumped to her feet then and reached down, slapping Michael in the face, the loud _*crack*_ causing both Matt and CJ to quickly turn around just in time to see Roy cross the room and take Rosa by the hand and then pull her into a hug as she buried her face in his chest.

That was the limit for Matt who could see Vince making a move toward Michael; he now dropped CJ's hand and went across the room.

"Can't keep your paws off of her, can you?" Michael gave Roy a stare of hatred and Vince closed in on him as Tony attempted to stop him. In that split second Roy raised his right hand, backhanding the stockbroker.

"It's time for you to leave, Michael." Matt's voice had the low gravelly tone that to anyone who had been around him the last few years knew meant trouble for whoever was on the receiving end. "Go…now." He pointed to the door.

"Go to he-…"

The man didn't get to finish his statement, but instead let out with a shriek as Matt grabbed the last three fingers on his left hand and twisted his arm behind his back, bringing him to his knees. Unbelievably the voice got even lower. "You're going to get on your feet and walk out of that door in the next ten seconds or there will be an ambulance called to carry you out." Backing off of the pressure on the man's fingers he allowed him to regain his feet and released his arm as he started for the door, looking back over his shoulder with unconcealed loathing. Not another word was said as he left, the heavy door shutting behind him.

The room was completely silent save for the sound of Rosa's sobs. She had her arms wrapped around Roy and her head buried in his chest again as he gently patted her back. Matt turned and went back toward CJ when he heard Rosa speaking to him. "Houston…" She sniffled into a tissue as he turned to face her. "I don't know why…"

Shaking his head the PI crossed the room once again and putting his arms around her, tucking his head down on top of hers. "Don't worry about it, Mama. I don't know what's put a burr under his saddle but he better get the situation taken care of…" He pulled away from her slightly. "Here, have a seat and try to relax, okay?" He helped her to a seat on the sofa once again as Isabella took Roy's hand and guided him next to her mother-in-law, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"What is wrong with him, Tony? He never used to act like this." The older woman was shaking and CJ went to the bar, pouring her a glass of white wine and bringing it along with a fresh box of tissues.

"Mama, I don't know. He's changed over the last couple of years. It was just little things at first but now in the last few months it's just snowballed…" He shook his head. "I just don't know. He's my brother and I love him but…." Turning to Matt he placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "Michael doesn't speak for the rest of us. We – Vince and I – love you as much as we love each other. Paulie did, too." He got slightly choked up. "You've done nothing but help this family and I for one will always be grateful."

Matt didn't know what to say. "I appreciate that…but I do feel guilty. Nothing is ever going to change that."

Vince was standing next to his best friend. "Bull – like Tony said the jerks that pulled the trigger are to blame." He patted the cowboy on the back sensing that he was just as upset as the other members of the family. "I don't know about the rest of you but I believe I could use a drink myself…don't think I want wine, though."

"A beer sounds really good right now." Matt headed for the bar along with Vince and Tony. "Uncle Roy?"

"Beer works for me."

"CJ …" Matt looked through the refrigerator and came back up with a grin. "How about a root beer?"

"Set me up, bartender." She gave him a smile and a wink, both thinking back to the day that Matt had finally professed his feelings for her over a root beer on the patio of Houston Investigations. They had been married within a few weeks.

As the three men walked back with the drinks and sat down, everyone gave a collective sigh and then looked at each other. Taking the opportunity to lighten the mood a little, Matt raised his bottle in toast to Rosa. "Mama, you've got a wicked slap there." They all laughed as she blushed.

"Roy's wasn't too bad with the backhand – guess I'll have to behave from here on out." Vince reached over and lightly punched the man on the shoulder as the group cracked up again. "Mama, how would you like to see about putting together a program for Paulie's service? I've got just the young man here to help you with it."

Isabella nodded. "I think at this point that's about the most constructive thing we can do." She looked to her mother-in-law who nodded her agreement.

Vince went to the room where the five boys were talking and playing video games. "Tomás? Still want to help?"

"Sure." Not knowing exactly what Vince needed him to do he followed him back out to the living room where he was asked to help with the planning of the program.

"I'd love to…be right back." As he left the room to get his drawing supplies and laptop, Matt and CJ once again exchanged a look and she nodded at him.

"Matt, I think we should go ahead with it."

"I do, too. You read my mind…again…as usual." The pair smiled and joined hands. "Do y'all mind if we take care of something real quick before you get started?"

"Of course not." Mama watched the pair as the boy re-entered the room.

"Hey bud, come over here for a minute…have a seat." Matt swallowed, somewhat nervously. After he was seated the cowboy looked at his wife who nodded and smiled at first him and then the boy. "CJ and I have something that we'd like to ask you…" Turning on the couch to face the teen, he paused for a minute seeing a flash of fear go through the young man's eyes. "Well…you know we think a lot of you, and so does Catey." Tomás smiled nervously. "And I think you like us pretty well."

"You guys are the greatest."

"I…well, there's no point in beating around the bush and wasting time. I've done enough of that in my life." He looked the boy directly in the eye. "We wondered how you would feel about legally becoming a member of the family…if it would be okay with you if we adopted you?"

With absolutely no hesitation whatsoever the fifteen year old threw his arms around the couple. "Yes!"


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

After informing the Novelli boys of the adoption plans, the group ordered several pizzas before Tomás settled down on the sofa, surrounded by the Novelli family. With a little information and a couple of photos of Paul, the teen moved to a nearby chair and began on the funeral program.

Matt and CJ had moved over to the work area of the suite where they sat down and tried to map out a plan for the next day. "I think a visit to the scene is going to be number one on my list." He leaned back and took another sip of beer.

"The girlfriend needs to be interviewed." CJ typed that into the computer. "But does it seem strange to you that she isn't here tonight…and hasn't even called?"

"Uh huh." Matt lowered his voice. "It doesn't look good. We need to see what we can find out about her." Although he had talked to Paulie on video chat and been introduced to Clarissa Waverly when they announced their engagement, he had never met her in person nor had any of the rest of the Novelli family aside from Tony. Paul and Tony had been close, but with the changing behavior of Michael in the last year they had grown closer.

"Can I join you?" The priest stood at the side of the table where the pair was working.

"Of course." CJ patted the chair next to her and gave him a smile. "Actually you have really great timing." Lowering her voice so that Mama wouldn't hear, she asked the youngest Novelli brother about Clarissa. The expression on his face spoke volumes.

"I've been wondering about that. See, I talked to her right after the police notified me that Paulie had been found. She was crying but…" He shrugged. "Something just felt off. I didn't want to say anything in front of Mama…and certainly not in front of Michael." The group fell silent before the priest looked across the table at Matt. "I really feel bad about what he said."

"No need for you to apologize. I don't care what he says about me, but he better get himself under control…I'm not going to put up with him upsetting Mama and Vince like that. Neither one of them needs it. Ole Vince there is still a tough one, but…" He shook his head. "That took a toll on him, Tony."

"I know." Sighing, he looked at the couple. "Congratulations again by the way." He laughed. "Just think: in a couple of years you've come from no kids to four kids."

CJ reached for Matt's hand and they shared a smile. "Making up for lost time I guess." She kissed her husband on the cheek. "You know – the minute I laid eyes on Tomás I just knew it would happen. He really is a great young man."

"He's lucky to have you two."

"We're lucky to have him." Matt looked over at the boy who was busily sketching, totally blocking out the rest of the conversation around him. "He's a good kid."

"I can't wait to see what he comes up with, but…" Tony yawned and stood up. "I've got to get going. I'll talk to you tomorrow." He leaned over and gave CJ a peck on the cheek and shook Matt's hand as the PI stood up. "Thanks again for helping."

"That's what brothers do, right?" Houston watched as he went and told the rest of the family good night and then left the suite. Mama had gone to the windows overlooking busy Madison Avenue while Roy and Vince were deep in conversation. The PI went to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind, pulling her into a hug. She rested her head on his shoulder and was quiet for a moment, her eyes tightly closed. "Maybe you ought to turn in, huh?"

"I'm going to…" Opening her eyes she looked out at the lights of the city. Turning to face the man she thought of as a son, Rosa ran her hand along his bearded jaw. "You know, I didn't like the beard at first." She gave him a smile. "But now…it fits. You've changed a lot in the last few years, Matt, but it's a change for the better. You've done a lot of growing up." Both smiled. "Maturing would be a better word. But I'm so happy that you're adopting Tomás. You're a great dad and he needs that influence in his life. He's been without someone to love him for so long and he needs to feel loved."

Matt nodded and pulled her close, kissing her cheek. "It felt like that's what we were supposed to do. After all, look at what Bill did for me." He pulled back and took both of her hands in his. "I know there's a lot going on right now and all that you're dealing with, but I want to say something, Mama." Pausing for a minute he looked at her hands before looking straight into her eyes. "Tomás isn't the only one who's been without someone to love for too long…I know Michael doesn't approve of you and Roy, but I really think…no, I know – that you two need each other. If he's too blind to see that then I feel sorry for him. But y'all need to be happy." Rosa nodded, leaned forward and kissed his cheek before quietly walking to her room. Both Roy and Vince had watched her go and now looked at Matt as he came and sat down on the couch with them.

"I swear if I could have strangled Michael earlier I would have." Vince tiredly shook his head. "Dad's probably spinning in his grave right now." Neither of the Houston men spoke. "Roy, I think you better go tell her goodnight." He put his hand on the older man's shoulder and Roy nodded before heading to the door of her room and knocking. Watching as Rosa opened the door and he entered, Vince gave a smile. "You know, Mama and my dad were absolutely, totally in love, but I believe that he would approve of the two of them."

"You know, as bad as it sounds…" Matt leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. "…maybe Michael showing his ass earlier is just what was needed for her to put things into perspective with Uncle Roy."

"I hope like hell that you're right."

A little while later, CJ and Matt turned in for the night. As they lay wrapped up in each other's arms, he could feel the twins she was expecting moving around. Chuckling, he put his mouth right next to her belly and spoke. "You boys better get to bed and let your mama get some sleep." He kissed her belly and then rubbed it and after a minute the babies settled down and let their mom and dad drift off.

Awaking before the alarm went off the next morning Matt eased out from under CJ's arm and slid a pillow down to take the place of his chest where her head was always resting when he woke up every morning. Going into the bathroom, he got into the steaming hot shower, thinking that it was going to be a very long hard day for all of them. CJ, Isabella, and Mama would be holding down the fort at the suite while Vince and Matt planned to visit Central Park where Paulie's body had been found. While they were trying their best to piece things together, CJ was going to be researching his fiancée Clarissa Waverly.

Toweling off and drying his hair, Matt couldn't help but smile as he thought about starting the adoption process for Tomás. CJ had already talked to a friend who handled adoptions and had been assured that there shouldn't be any problems. Although he hadn't really thought that the boy would object to the adoption, the cowboy had been nervous none-the-less. It was a relief to see that he was so happy about it and the fact that the Novellis were happy with it, too, just made it feel that much more right.

Matt rummaged through his bag and found his beard trimmer, plugged it into the outlet, and as he began evening up the growth he thought back to his conversation with Rosa the night before about Roy's marriage proposal. _I sure hope she sees the light and says yes._ As he finished up and cut off the device he was popped on the butt with a towel. Without even looking he grinned. "Good morning, sleepyhead. How ya feelin'?" Turning around he pulled CJ to him for a kiss, which was much shorter than he had anticipated.

As she pulled away from him and headed to the commode she looked back over her shoulder with a disgruntled look. "I'm feeling like you need to have another talk with your sons – they seem to think my bladder is a trampoline." As she walked away, the cowboy did his best not to let her hear him snicker but wasn't successful. "I heard that…"

"Love you, Babe." He went into the bedroom and pulled out a pair of jeans and a firebrick red shirt with a dark blue diamond print running up and down it - a present from CJ the previous Christmas – and got dressed, once again tucking the Glock into the waistband of his jeans. Hearing the sound of the shower starting and along with it his wife's singing, he chuckled and went out to the living room of the suite just as the doorbell rang. Mama and Roy were sitting together talking and both watched as he put his hand on the pistol before checking to see who was at the door. Matt immediately opened the door and welcomed Tony Novelli back to the suite. "Come on in, Padre."

"I hope I'm not too early." He came inside.

"Nope, you're fine." Matt closed the door and headed for the coffee pot behind the bar, pouring himself a cup. "Anybody else want one?" He held up the pot.

"Sure." Tony walked over and took the cup. He leaned on the bar and lowered his voice. "What did you and Vince have planned for today?"

"I haven't really talked to him about it but…" Houston lowered his voice so that Rosa wouldn't be able to hear. "I'd like to take a look at the scene first off." He sipped the coffee. "I also think we need to talk to Clarissa. I was kind of hoping you would be able to help us with that."

"I can. I'm taking some time off, so I'm pretty much available." Tony looked up as his nephews entered the room and came over to talk to him. "What do you think about these guys, Houston?"

"I don't know…" He gave them a doubtful look. "They ain't much punkin but I reckon they'll have to do." Vince and Isabella had come into the room just as the two men spoke about the boys and both started laughing as the young men protested, all four going around the bar to gang up on their Uncle Matt. "What do you misfits say we find some breakfast?" He finally got them under control with that.

Father Tony spoke up. "There's a diner about two blocks down…" He pointed south.

"That okay with y'all?" Matt looked around the room and all nodded their agreement as Tomás came into the room carrying his laptop and bag containing his art supplies. The PI looked at his watch. "Lemme go see if CJ has sung her way out of the shower yet." He disappeared through the bedroom door.

Quietly, Tomás approached Roy and Rosa. "Mrs. Novelli, I wanted to see what you thought of the program so far…" He reached into the bag and pulled out a sketch pad, opening it up as the couple made room for him on the sofa and Vince and his wife Isabella went behind the sofa to take a peek.

"Oh, Tomás…" Rosa's eyes filled with tears as he looked at her uncertainly. "It's beautiful…" She put an arm around him, hugging him close and kissed his cheek. "Thank you. And you better start calling me Mama or Grandma or I'll be getting confused." She gave him a smile.

"Well, I've still got some work to do on it, but I wanted to be sure that you were okay with the idea." He blushed and as Matt came back into the room Vince waved him over.

"Come see what your boy's done." The former cop was completely impressed.

Matt walked over to join his friend and leaned over the back of the sofa. Looking down at the pad, he saw that the boy had sketched a portrait of Paulie surrounded by flowers and a rosary. He patted Tomás on the back. "Wow…man, that's great. Good job, bud. Impressive."

"Thanks." He continued to blush as Mama gave him yet another hug.

"I'm proud to call you a grandson, too." She patted his leg.

"I'm not official yet."

"In here you are." She pointed to her heart.

Later on, after making sure that everyone had breakfast Vince and Tony along with Houston set out to take a look at the crime scene, leaving Rosa and Isabella to keep the boys out of mischief and CJ and Roy to begin researching Clarissa Waverly. Matt wanted to see what she came up with on the young woman before they went and spoke with her.

As the three men hailed a taxi and slid into the backseat the mood became much more somber and as they rode southward on 5th Avenue, no one had much to say until Vince finally spoke up. "So how do you like New York? I'm sure you've been here before – back in your Houston Industries days."

"Yeah, quite a few times, but I've gotta tell ya – it ain't my first choice." He gave the New York-born men a grin.

Tony played along. "Now why on earth wouldn't you want to live here?"

"Too hard to find a place to park my horse." Even the cab driver cracked up.

As they turned off of 5th and headed northwest on 79th Street entering Central Park the mood got somber once again. They exited the cab in front of Belvedere Castle. Designed by Calvert Vaugh - one of the co-designers of the park - the castle was built in 1869 intended only as a lookout to the Ramble on the south side and the reservoir on the north. Later on it was renovated and included exhibit rooms as well as a weather station on the top level. Tony and Vince came to a stop a short distance from the entrance and stood looking at it. Matt watched the two, unwilling to interrupt whatever memories they were recalling.

Vince looked over at his best friend and gave him a sad smile. "When we were kids Dad and Mama used to bring us here almost every weekend; it wasn't Belvedere Castle to us – it was Castello Novelli."

"Novelli Castle." Matt nodded.

The group started forward again and Tony continued the story. "We had a great time here – pretend sword fights, races, wrestling matches…" The two brothers smiled at each other. "I never would have dreamed that one of us would…" The priest was unable to continue.

They went around the castle to the Turtle Pond where Paulie had been found. There were still a few pieces of crime scene tape fluttering. "Guess that's the outer part of the scene." Matt motioned to where some of the tape remained tied to three trees at the pond's edge. He looked at Vince, knowing that the man had worked hundreds of murders over his years as a cop, but never one involving a family member. The struggle to remain calm and objective was clearly on his face and the PI gripped his shoulder. "Hey, you two don't have to be here. I can…"

"No…" Vince's voice cracked and he sniffed. "I owe him. No way am I not gonna take care of this for him."

Quietly, Matt answered. "Okay." Out of the front pocket of his shirt he pulled the tiny little video camera that he and Derwin Dunlap had been working on for fire investigation purposes. "Look, I'm gonna do some filming here so we can look back through later." The Novelli brothers nodded, Tony watching with curiosity as the PI began recording the area, working his way from the outer edges of the perimeter in toward the water. On the large rocks at the water's edge was what remained of a puddle of blood, the sight of which caused a strangled sound from the priest. Vince put a hand on his back and continued to watch as his friend got footage of the scene. When he got close to the rocks, Matt knelt down to get a better shot. There were several sets of footprints near the rock, not surprising considering that not only had detectives been to the scene, but also CSI techs and workers from the Coroner's Office. As he looked at the rock he noticed an indentation in the center of the bloodstain that appeared to have been made by a bullet. _Looks like the son of a bitch shot him when he was down._ When they had finished looking at the area the three made their way back up to the castle, Matt looking to see if there were any surveillance cameras that might be able to give them some help. Although there were a couple nearby, none would be able to cover the area where the murder had happened. He considered what had happened to be murder; knowing that Paulie had been a devout Catholic and that he had been so happy about the direction that his life was taking, Matt refused to believe that the man had committed suicide.

"I'd like to try to find the homeless man who spotted Paulie." He spoke again, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, but that could be really tough to do. We need to get a copy of the police report to get his name." Vince sighed. "I still can't believe this is even happening…it's like a bad dream."

"Yeah, I know." Matt began to pull out his phone to call CJ and check on her progress and the second it was out of his pocket it rang. He grinned. "That's my girl." Pressing the button he answered. "Hey there, sexy Lil Mama. I've got you on speaker so don't talk dirty." Vince just shook his head and rolled his eyes as Tony cracked up.

"Ooookay, uh…what was I…oh yeah." She giggled and Vince began laughing. "Oh shut up, Vince. Anyway, Uncle Roy and I have been researching Clarissa. She's twenty eight, grew up near Indianapolis and graduated from the University of Indiana at Bloomington. Looks like she's pretty bright – she finished in the top twenty five of her class and was recruited her senior year by Xerxes, Robinson, and Widmark where she still works as an online/interactive media planner."

"What exactly does that mean?" The former cop and his brother looked at each other and shrugged.

"She specializes in online media outlets, like websites, web portals, and e-newsletters as well as online advertising methods – you know those banner ads, pop-ups, things like that."

"All I knew was that she worked in advertising." Vince shrugged. "Anything else?"

"Well, Clarissa moved up the food chain relatively quickly when she got to New York…not that her job is at the top of the heap, but she hit the floor running so to speak; six months after she got to the city she had been promoted twice. Then she got promoted again last year to her present job."

"Is that unusual?" Tony spoke up this time.

"Well, not necessarily…but I ran across a little tidbit that seemed strange. Apparently Clarissa filed a lawsuit against one of the partners about three weeks before her last promotion. When the promotion was granted the suit was dropped."

"What kind of suit was it?" Matt and the other two men sat down on a bench.

"Sexual harassment."

"Uh huh…well, that's kind of…not sounding very good." He rubbed at the beard on his face. "Where does she live?"

"That's interesting as well – she's got an apartment on West End between 61st and 63rd. That's only about four blocks from Shannon Swafford's apartment."

"One of Paulie's bosses?" Vince looked at the phone, somewhat shocked.

"The very same – although it could just be a coincidence."

"What's the work address?" Matt pulled out his notebook and jotted down the Madison Avenue address for Xerxes, Robinson, and Widmark. "And I take it Mama hasn't heard from her yet either?"

"No…" Matt heard her moving. "Hang on a minute." CJ walked into the Houstons' bedroom. "As a matter of fact she was talking about that when we got back after breakfast. Guys, I'm really worried about her. This whole thing is really getting to her."

"What about Roy?" Vince and Tony exchanged a worried look.

"He's sticking right by her side." She paused for a minute. "Tony, maybe it isn't my place, but I really wish you would talk to her about the marriage."

"I have already – I'm all for it. The only one against it is Michael."

"Sorry if I overstepped – I just love both of them and can't stand to see them miserable."

"You didn't. I've tried talking to him about it several times but he just shuts down. I don't know what his problem is."

"Okay, well, that's all I have on her. I haven't found anything else about her, but maybe a criminal background check would be in order. Something just doesn't seem right."

"Thanks, Babe. Make sure you get some rest okay?"

"Yes, dear." CJ used the henpecked voice that she and Matt teased each other with all the time. "Love you, Cowboy…and you two keep him out of trouble, you hear?"

"Yes ma'am – we'll do our best." Tony shook his head smiling as the lawyer hung up. "You two are one heck of a team."


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

"Sergeant Houston?" A weary-looking man about Matt's age walked into the lobby of the police precinct.

"Yes sir." Houston stood as well as Tony and Michael. He introduced them. "Detective Marchetti, I understand from the Father here that you're handling Paul Novelli's case."

"I am…and as I told Father Novelli yesterday as soon as I know something I'll pass it along. It was nice to meet you." He turned and started away.

"Look man…" Vince started after him. "All we want to do is take a look at what you've got so far."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Novelli. But we don't just share records with civilians."

Houston had followed Vince over. "I'm not a civilian – he's LAPD – retired."

"No offense, Sergeant Houston…" The over-worked cop looked at the badge clipped on Matt's belt and then up at his face. "New York isn't Texas. I don't know how they handle things in the Wild West but…" Anthony Marchetti suddenly found himself grabbed by the throat and slammed against the corkboard on the wall by Vince.

"Look, man…" Vince tried to pull away as both Matt and Tony pulled him off of the cop.

"LAPD retired or not, your ass can go to jail for assaulting an officer." He glared at the former cop.

"Look…can I talk to you privately – just for a minute…please?" Matt put a hand on his shoulder and drew him away from the two brothers. "Vince had to take a medical discharge – he was shot in the line of duty and damn near died. He was one hell of a detective. I'm an advisor to LAPD, the FBI, ATF, Homeland Security…" He stopped as the man began shaking his head. "I know you're overworked. We just want a look at the file and then we'll leave…I promise. Please? Their mother is grieving over her dead son and just wants some answers. Nobody is blaming you for anything – you can only work with what you've got, we get it, okay?" Pointing over his shoulder at Vince he spoke again. "That man has been in your shoes so many times over the years... he completely understands; it's the job."

Marchetti looked between Matt and the two brothers. Tony was doing his best to calm Vince down, but it was obvious to anyone who saw that he was near to losing it. Sighing, he slowly nodded. "Okay."

"Guys?" Houston waved the two men over and they followed Marchetti to the crowded and noisy squad room, where the detective picked a folder up off of his desk and led them to an interrogation room. Once inside he tossed the folder on the table.

"I've got to make a phone call. You've got five minutes." He started out the door then stuck his head back in, giving the PI a grim smile. "The coroner's report is in the back."

"Much appreciated." Houston and the two others dove for the file. "Look..." He pulled the camera out of his pocket. "Let's just get pictures of it and then we can sit down and go over it at our leisure, okay?"

"Do it." Vince's hands were shaking as he turned the pages for his friend, even more so when they reached the photos of the crime scene. They finished up just as Marchetti came back. The former cop turned to the detective. "I'm sorry I jumped you. Thank you."

"If it happens again…" Marchetti let the threat hang in the air.

"It won't – I'll make sure of it. Here…" Houston handed one of his cards over. "Call the cell number there if you need anything. And thanks a lot – you have no idea how much we appreciate it." He held out his hand and the two shook, then both of the Novellis. As they boarded the crowded elevator all three were quiet. Outside on the street, Matt hailed a cab and they loaded up. "Let's go back to the hotel and go over this with a fine toothed comb."

Vince shook his head and began smiling.

"What?" Matt looked at him, puzzled.

"I used to have to try to keep _you_ from choking people. Mama's right: you're all grown up now." All three cracked up, but Vince looked at his friend as the cowboy was looking out the passenger window of the cab and he knew that what Rosa had said was right on the money; Houston had changed so much in the last four years that it was nearly incomprehensible. The once carefree bachelor millionaire playboy was no more: the man sitting next to him in the cab was level-headed and far from the somewhat immature man he had been a few short years ago.

Once back at the hotel, the PI pulled out his phone and called Hoyt as they rode up to the suite in the elevator. "Michael, I need a favor." He explained that he needed the lieutenant to run a check through NCIC on Clarissa Waverly. "I could probably pull it off using the Sheriff's Department but I don't want to abuse that, ya know?"

"Got it. I'll get it to you ASAP…or rather Sanchez will – I'm walking out the door but I'll put him right on it. Let me know if there's anything else you guys need."

"Thanks, bud. Talk to you later." He hung up and they entered the suite to find CJ and Rosa sitting on one of the sofas talking over a cup of tea as Roy read the newspaper and Isabella and the boys were watching TV.

"How did it go?" The lawyer watched as the three men headed for the laptop on the work area table.

"Okay, so far." Houston started to hook the camera to the laptop but stopped, instead picking up the computer and heading into his bedroom, Vince and Tony right on his heels. The door was shut and the two women exchanged a look.

Mama started that way and Roy intercepted her. "Don't." He stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

"It's about Paulie…"

"I know it is - but do you think Mattlock would have taken it in there if it was something you should be looking at?"

"He's my son!"

"I know that. And so do Tony and Vince…they don't think you need to see it either." The pair stood staring at each other for a moment before Rosa turned and went to the windows looking out over the Manhattan skyline with a perfectly blue cloudless sky in the background. Her shoulders shook as she began to weep again and Roy went to her, his arms going around her waist and his head on her shoulder. As CJ watched the pair, the urge to beat Michael Novelli rose up inside of her. The two obviously loved each other very much and needed each other. How could he stand in the way of his mother's happiness?

In the bedroom Matt sat down on the bed and hooked the camera to the computer, downloading the files and immediately backing them up onto a flash drive before doing anything else. Once that was done he pulled up the first page of the file and tilted the screen so that Vince and Tony, sitting on either side of him, could see it as well. As they read through the information, Matt was the first to find the name of the homeless man: Andario Clemmons, age 39. Pulling out his notebook he jotted it down.

"Marchetti ran a check on him – no priors or warrants." Vince continued reading on, his face becoming more drawn as they progressed through the file. By the time they hit the crime scene photos the two brothers were both in tears and Matt himself was getting choked up. Paulie was wearing a suit and tie; his left hand was dangling in the water of the pond and next to his right was a pistol.

"I think that's his pistol. It looks like one that he showed me a few months ago." The priest looked to the other two who nodded.

"Looks like a Sig 1911…" Matt blew up the image and Vince nodded his agreement.

There was a hole in his right temple and after an anguished sob, Vince growled. "Somebody murdered him. It's as plain as day." He looked at Tony who was now crying and nodding. "Paulie was left handed."

Putting a hand on a shoulder of each of the men, Matt nodded. "I knew he didn't commit suicide." Continuing on the three worked their way to the coroner's report that stated that Paul Novelli had died from massive brain trauma caused by a 9mm bullet which had exited through the left rear quarter of his skull and appeared to be a possible suicide. "They didn't find the bullet or the shell casing." He looked at Vince who nodded.

"It could have gone in the water." The former cop had calmed down slightly. Even though he felt in his heart that his brother wouldn't have taken his own life, the fact that he was shot in the right side of the head and the gun was found near his right hand just reinforced that fact.

"If you look here…" Matt pulled up his video of the crime scene and pointed out the indentation in the rock. "It looks like it might have ricocheted."

"Which means it's where?" Tony looked at the two.

Blowing out a breath, Vince got up and began to pace. "It could be almost anywhere around there."

"If we can find it we might be able to track it down through IAFIS – if it wasn't Paulie's." Houston went back through the photos and report. "I really want to talk to the guy who found him."

"Evidently the cops didn't think he had anything to do with it, right – or they wouldn't have let him go?" The priest looked at Matt.

"I don't think he had anything to do with it either." The PI stood up and stretched before walking over to the window. "Clemmons wouldn't have any reason to stage a scene to look like a suicide." He turned back to the brothers. "It was someone he knew…somehow." Walking back to the window he thought. "Paulie's work took him inside the workings of a lot of big corporations. Maybe he ran across something that someone didn't want found?"

Vince and Tony nodded. The priest watched as the two friends continued to think on the situation. "So now what do we do?"

"Well…" Matt came back and sat down on the foot of the bed. "Since we know they're done with Paulie at the coroner's I think you two should see about taking care of arrangements."

"But if there is any question at all as to whether or not it's suicide…" Tony shook his head.

"Do what you can do with the funeral home." He paused. Looking at the two he went on. "I think they should be able to do an open casket, what do y'all think?"

Vince nodded. "I've seen worse." He immediately sank down onto the bed and began crying as did Tony who was doing his best to comfort his oldest brother. "That doesn't seem possible to say does it?" The former cop tried to pull himself together.

"As much as you and I have seen in this world, Vince…" Matt put an arm around Vince's shoulders and shook his head. "Right now we need to try to make this as easy as possible for Mama."

"Yeah." Vince swiped at the tears with the tail of his shirt.

"Go throw some water on your face, bud." Houston jerked his head in the direction of the bathroom. He watched as the man nodded and went in to gather himself. "Tony, keep a good eye on him, okay?"

"Yeah." The priest grabbed a tissue out of the box on the bedside table and blew his nose. "I think it just needs to be the two of us talking to the funeral director. I honestly don't think Mama can handle it." Standing he walked over and looked out the window. "You know, a priest is supposed to be able to handle things like this: dying, death, dealing with the aftermath...all that training just kind of goes out the window when it's a family member."

"I think you're doing just fine." Matt looked up as Vince came out of the bathroom looking slightly better than he had.

"Your turn, little brother." He tapped Tony on the back and the priest nodded and went to wash his face as well. "Thanks for helping." Looking down at Matt he shook his head and smiled sadly. "You know, I was thinking yesterday when we were on the way from LA…" Sitting back down on the bed next to Houston he elbowed him in the ribs. "Do you remember when we met?"

"Uh huh." Matt chuckled. "I got the "Wild West" run around from you, too."

"And then you informed me that California used to be the Wild West." Vince cracked up. "I wanted to hate you, but when you left the office that day I laughed my ass off." Both laughed for a minute. "I had no idea at the time that you would end up being so important to me…hell, not just me: the whole family. Thanks."

"Y'all made me feel like I had a family even when I was completely alone in LA, Vince. That meant a lot to me then, but it means even more now." He stood up and stretched once again, popping his back. "Now – enough mushy stuff." Tony walked out of the bathroom. "You two go do what you need to do. I'm going to go back to the park and see if I can find a couple of things." He walked over to his bag and retrieved what looked like pen from a pouch inside of it.

"And that would be…?" Tony watched as Matt extended the telescoping magnet.

"A bullet and Andario Clemmons."

"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I think Uncle Roy needs to keep an eye on Mama while you two are gone…and I definitely don't want CJ there."

"Call if you need me, okay Ace?" Vince stood up and headed for the door as Matt picked up the laptop and took it back out to the work area.

"Yep – I will."


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

After taking a cab back down to Belvedere Castle, Matt went back to the scene, put on a pair of nitrile gloves, and wandered the area with the magnet, working to the left of where the body had fallen along the rocks at the edge of the pond, then moving slightly away from the pond. Knowing that the lead of a bullet wouldn't stick to the magnet, he was holding out hope that the round would have been steel jacketed. He didn't find anything useful. Stooping over the rock where Paulie had lost his life, he examined the mark on the rock closer, and then put the magnet over the edge of the rocks and began running it back and forth in a three foot arc working his way further out into the water with no results. Shrugging he began working the area to the right, and just as he was about to give up he felt something stick on the end of the magnet. Carefully, he raised it up and couldn't believe his eyes when there on the end was a shell casing. "I'll be damned." He pulled out his phone and called CJ. "Hey, look on the laptop at Paulie's file…I need Detective Marchetti's number."

"Okay…212-555-8159, extension 413. What's going on?" She knew from the sound of his voice that something was going on and then he told her. "Oh boy…good deal, hon. Let me know how it goes. Love you."

"Love you. 'Bye." He hung up and dialed the number, relieved when Marchetti picked up the phone. "Detective, it's Matt Houston…"

"Look, I told you earlier…"

"I think I may have found the shell casing."

"You what?!"

"I think…"

"I heard you the first time. What in the hell are you doing out there?"

"Uh, looking for the bullet." He rolled his eyes.

"I'll be out there in a few minutes…and don't touch anything else!" Marchetti slammed down the receiver, grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair, and hit the elevator.

Matt in the meantime kept looking around the scene, trying to picture in his mind exactly how the murder must have happened. Someone had to have gotten close enough to Paulie to grab his pistol. Since there was no stippling around the entrance wound on his head, the shooter had to be at least four feet away. But from what the pictures had shown and the evidence on the rock, the shot had been fired from above. _The shooter was probably a man._ The average height for a woman was about 5'3" to 5'4", and even with Paulie lying on the rock, it would more than likely have to be a man of at least 6' in height to have been able to have the distance. From the picture it looked like he had been looking to his left when the shot was fired almost straight down into his right temple.

Continuing to look around the scene, Houston thought about the Sig 1911. The ejection port was on the right hand side of the pistol. Closing his eyes, he pictured Paulie lying on the rock with his head turned to the left. _If there's a shooter standing over you, why are you looking left? Because someone else was here. _Paulie had most likely been talking to the other person when the shot had been fired, and the shell casing had been ejected, possibly bouncing off of the victim or the rock and then into the water. He squatted down and looked at the casing: steel. For that he was grateful – if it had been brass it wouldn't have stuck to the magnet.

"I told you not to touch anything else." The tired and impatient voice of Det. Marchetti pulled Matt from his thoughts.

"I haven't." Houston stood back up as Marchetti, flanked by a female CSI tech, made his way down the path to the rocks below.

"Where was it?"

"Straight down into the water from where it's lying now. As soon as I saw what it was I put the magnet down."

Nodding, Marchetti watched as the tech first photographed the shell casing and then removed it from the magnet and put it into an evidence bag. "Anything else?"

"Not yet."

"Got high hopes do you?"

"Just trying to find out what happened." Houston had heard the tone and the speech so many times over the years he had almost become immune to it.

"Who was this guy to you?"

"Almost a brother."

"Almost?"

"Long story and I doubt you want to hear it." He looked at the cop. "Have you gotten a ballistics report back yet?"

"You're something else aren't you? I specifically told you earlier…"

"Have you got the report or not?"

"Yes."

"Why are you objecting so much to a little help?"

"I…" Marchetti shook his head. "That's not something we get much of around here."

"It's like that all over." The two looked at each other.

"So…" The detective began looking the scene over again. "I ran a check on you, Mr. Houston. Quite a résumé: Army Special Forces, Intelligence…" He began walking around the area much as Matt had been. "I called the FBI. It seems they're quite impressed with your track record. I guess I should be glad to have so much expert help." The last was said sarcastically.

Houston's eyes narrowed as he looked at the man and his voice began to lower. "Detective, I really don't understand what your problem is…" He took a few steps closer. "You're getting help…I found the shell casing that your people didn't; is that what's eating at you?"

"They say if something seems too good to be true it usually is…" Marchetti cocked his head and looked at the PI. "And that description seems to fit you."

"You know, I try to keep an open mind about people." Matt looked down at the rocks where he was standing and then out over the water. "You're making that real difficult right now, Marchetti."

"Why in the hell is a damn billionaire out playing cop?"

"Ever heard of trying to give back? Trying to make the world a better place?" The PI could feel his anger starting to get the better of him. "What about the ballistics report?" Sighing, Marchetti looked out over the pond and shook his head. "Look – I came out here and found the shell casing – doesn't that mean anything to you? My best friend, his mother, and the rest of his family have had their world ripped apart and you want to stand there and bitch because you're getting some help? I thought when you gave us a look at the file that you weren't the standard NYPD jerk detective that I had always heard about…but I guess I was wrong." He turned and started up the hill.

"The weapon was a Sig 1911 registered to the victim." Matt stopped and turned back to face Marchetti. "His prints were on it, but there were others on top of them. There were also prints other than his on the magazine."

"Did you know he was left handed – and that there wasn't any stippling around the wound?"

"No."

"Doesn't sound like a suicide now, does it?"

"No."

"I think there were two people here with him…" Matt went on to explain his theory about a male shooter and Marchetti nodded.

"That's what the ballistics guy said." The cop sighed. "Okay, look: it's not that I'm not appreciative of the help, but we have to work this thing by the book."

"Understood."

Both were silent for a minute as the tech looked between them. "Detective, is there anything else?" She had her gear packed up.

"No – thanks, Jamaica."

"What does Andario Clemmons look like?" Matt pulled out his notebook and jotted the down the description that Marchetti gave him of an African-American male with dreadlocks, about 6'1". "Any idea where he lives?"

Marchetti shrugged and gestured around the park. "I suspect somewhere in here." He turned and looked at the PI. "I don't know how much experience you have in New York, Mr. Houston…" Taking a few steps up the hill he stopped and looked back. "It can be an absolutely fabulous place – or it can be deadly. This park is a prime example – everything goes on here. I see you have a pistol on you: keep it handy." With that he went up the trail a couple of steps.

"You know a cell phone number would sure make things easier." Matt's voice had resumed its usual level, the Texas drawl making him sound calmer than he felt, and he pulled out his phone as the cop rattled off his number. "Thanks." He waited until Marchetti was almost to the top of the hill and hit "CALL" on the screen. The detective's phone began ringing. Without checking the ID he answered. "Now you've got mine, too." Matt hung up and chuckled as the cop looked back over his shoulder and shook his head.

As he retracted the magnet and put it in his pocket, the PI turned to look out around the park. Just to the north he could see the Delacourte Theater, an open-air venue that was known for not only its Shakespeare productions but other famous plays as well. "What the hell…" Houston began walking toward the theater, keeping an eye out for any other clues that he might find as he made his way from the rocky shore of the Turtle Pond over to the grassy area that surrounded the theater. It appeared to be deserted and he walked across the stage that had played host to many a now-famous actor and actress. Open-air was a valid description: the only cover at the theater was the two tunnels that led from inside the theater to the outer portion behind it. Entering the one on his left, the PI quietly walked through, not seeing anything or anyone at all. Once on the backside of the theater he turned right and went to the other tunnel. A short distance in he found a door that was locked. Looking around to be sure no one could see, he knelt down and pulled the set of lock picks out of his left boot and, shining the light from the camera on the lock, he quickly chose what he needed to breach the lock, replacing the picks and quietly turning the knob on the door. When he had it open he was surprised to find not only a neat and clean room, but a man matching the description of Andario Clemmons, who looked shocked to see that someone had entered the room. He immediately picked up a large stick that was leaning against the wall.

"Get out." The voice was low.

"Mr. Clemmons?"

"I said get out."

"My name's Matt Houston. I'm a private investigator and I'm looking into the death of Paul Novelli. I just want to ask you a couple of questions – that's all."

"I already talked to the cops."

"Yes sir. I was just hoping…" He paused for a minute. "Paul was my best friend's brother – his family just wants some answers…please?"

"I don't have time for that right now." Clemmons returned to what he had been doing when Matt came in the room. "If I don't get out of here before this afternoon I may lose my chance at being able to use this place next winter."

"They're about to start rehearsals, huh?" Matt cautiously took a few steps inside and could now see that Clemmons was packing his belongings into a military duffel bag. Clemmons nodded. "Look – how about you pack your stuff and I treat you to lunch?"

"Sure – take pity on the homeless guy, huh?" Clemmons shot him an angry look.

"Well, I don't know about you but I'm getting hungry and I sure would like to be able to talk with you. Why not kill two birds with one stone?" He kept his tone quiet.

"Sure, why not." Clemmons looked around the room one last time and cinched up the duffel tossing it up on his shoulder in a practiced manner as he picked up the stick. Matt turned and walked back to the door, turning the lock on it before stepping out in the tunnel. The two headed toward the back of the theater and to a food truck that was situated toward 81st Street.

"Pizza okay with you?" Houston looked to Clemmons.

"Fine."

"You order it – I'll eat anything but anchovies." The PI nodded to the somewhat skeptical man working the counter as Clemmons placed the order and Matt forked over the money. Taking their plates and drinks over to a nearby bench the two sat down and began eating, neither man speaking at first. "This is pretty good." Houston nodded and then took a sip of the Fizzy Pop in his hand.

"Not bad. He needs to work on the sauce some…it's too sweet." Clemmons devoured the first slice and started in on the second.

"Are you a cook?"

"Used to be." Both returned to eating and Matt got a look at the tattoo on Clemmons' left forearm.

"82nd Airborne, huh?" He took another drink.

"Yeah."

Matt set down the drink and held out his right hand to the man. "101st."

Somewhat surprised, the man gave the PI an assessing look and then shook the offered hand. "I'll try not to hold that against you." Both cracked up and continued eating for a few minutes before Clemmons looked at him again as he wiped out the third slice of pizza. "So…did you go to Iraq?"

Houston nodded as he drank. "There and Afghanistan both…unfortunately. You?"

"Both." Clemmons got quiet. "I enlisted on September 12, 2001." He shook his head. "I had a job at a good restaurant here in town, a wife, two kids…" Taking a drink he continued. "Thought it was my duty, you know?"

"Yep, I joined up in June of 2001 – straight out of college." He looked across the tree-lined path and out to the green fields. "Air dropped in at night…and all hell broke loose." Both were quiet again. "What happened with the wife and kids?"

"She was mad when I came home and told her what I'd done – said I was crazy, and she packed up her stuff and left – went back home to her parents in Chicago. I haven't seen her or the kids since."

"Have you talked to her?"

"I tried calling – her dad kept hanging up the phone when he found out it was me."

"Been there?"

"No…" Clemmons drank again. "When I got back I, uh…" He looked down at the cup in his hands. "I wasn't much use to anyone. They like to call it "adjustment issues"."

"Uh huh…"

"Bet you didn't have that problem, though, did you?"

"I started drinking on the flight from Germany. There was a two hour layover here in New York…" Matt gestured around him. "I spent it in a bar and they damn near had to pour me on the plane to Texas." He took another drink. "Spent the most of that flight passed out, then came to about twenty minutes before we landed. My dad threw a welcome home party…and I kept on drinking. Got into a fight with my best friend at the time and left. Spent the next month drunk and trying to stay that way."

"What happened?"

"Long story short: my dad threw me in the river behind our house when I did come home, then sent me out to the meanest oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico for twenty eight days to work my ass off and dry out. It worked, too; he knew what he was doing."

"What about your friend?"

Houston chuckled. "She's now my wife – we got married a couple of years ago; got a one year old, a pair of twins on the way, and are about to adopt a fifteen year old."

"You were lucky."

"I was." Matt nodded.

"Your friend's brother wasn't." Clemmons took another drink. "I didn't actually see it happen, but I heard arguing – it sounded like three people. A couple of minutes later I heard a gunshot. An hour later I found him."

"Why'd you call the cops?"

"Seemed like the right thing to do." He gave Matt a lopsided grin. "Hey, it got me a free meal anyway."

"So you didn't see anybody around the area before or after it happened?"

"No."

"Anything distinct about the voices?"

"Not really…noise carries out on the water but when it hits the seats in the theater it kind of distorts a little." He drank again. "I wish I could tell you more but I can't." Clemmons got up and hoisted the bag on his shoulder. "Thanks for lunch…and for talking to me like I'm a human being."

"You are a human being." Matt stood up. "Have you dealt with the war?"

"About as much as I can. It just took some time…but you probably understand that."

"Do you need to talk to anybody about it?"

"I don't think so. It's over, I'm here…I've just got to try to get things going again."

"What if I could get you to Chicago? What would you do?"

"I…I don't know. I've got a sister there." He shrugged.

"Do you want to go?"

Andario looked around the park. "I think I need to…it's time to start living again."

"Alright…" Houston pulled out his wallet and handed the man $2,000 and one of his business cards. "Get yourself a room, get some clothes, and get a flight to Chicago. Call the cell number when you get there."

Clemmons looked shocked. "I can't take that."

"You earned it." Matt reached across and stuffed the money and card in Andario's shirt pocket. "Call me." He held out his hand and they shook before the PI turned and walked back toward Belvedere Castle, disappearing out of sight as Clemmons stood and watched him go, still in shock.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

"You found him?" Vince was astounded. He and Tony were riding back up to the suite with Houston who had just gotten back to the Clariday himself.

"Yep – lucky break." He explained to the two brothers what had happened. "He didn't tell the cops quite as much as he told me…but sometimes they don't listen quite as much to a homeless person either." The PI slid the keycard in the lock and the three entered the suite to find Isabella, CJ, and Rosa sitting together on one of the sofas drinking tea. Walking over and kneeling down in front of CJ, Matt gave her a kiss. "Missed you, Babe."

"I missed you, too."

"Let's move over here so Tony and Vince can talk to Mama." He motioned to the other sofa and helped her up, the pair settling down hand in hand.

Isabella moved over to where the Houstons were sitting so that Vince and Tony could sit down with Rosa. "Mama, we've got Paulie at the Brookdale Funeral Home. They're going to take care of him for us right now." She nodded, looking as if part of her heart were crumbling.

"Will…will I be able to see him?" Her voice trembled as she looked between her two sons who both nodded.

"Tomorrow, okay?" Vince patted her hand.

"What exactly happened?" She looked at both of them and then at Matt.

"Houston, why don't you explain it." Tony called the PI over and he knelt down in front of the woman that he called Mama and took her through what they knew, trying to be as delicate as possible.

"Now we still don't know who yet, but if we can get a match to the prints off of the gun and the shell casing, we might have a break. I think I've finally got the detective on the case where he'll talk to me without too much hassle."

She nodded. "I want you to find who did this to my Paulie. I know you can do it – you and Vincenzo." Although her voice trembled her eyes stayed dry.

"Yes ma'am. I'm doing my best."

"You're doing better than your best, Ace." Vince put a hand on his shoulder. "We wouldn't have squat right now without you."

"Sure you would." He looked back up at Rosa. "Now I've got to do a little reading. Hoyt sent me some information that I need to go through before I can do anything else." Standing up, Matt turned toward the work area where the laptop was sitting.

"I think Clarissa had something to do with it." Rosa's voice broke the silence in the room and the PI turned to look at her. "And you do, too; I can tell."

"Mama, I think it's a possibility."

"She hasn't called or come by…that's not normal."

"It doesn't look good." He watched as she nodded once again. "I'm going to get back to work."

As Matt was opening the email from Sanchez, a cup of coffee appeared on the table next to him and he looked up to see Tomás standing there. "Thanks, bud." He looked back at the screen and noticed that the boy was still standing there. "What's up?"

"I just…what can I do? I feel stupid not doing anything." He sat down in the chair that Matt patted on.

"You have done something – you helped with the program." Looking over to find Rosa busy talking to the other boys and Roy he kept his voice low. "I think that helped more than you know."

"But what can I do now?"

"Well…" The PI thought. "Just…try to help her as much as you can. Hugs never hurt…I don't think she can get too many of them right now. Plus, I'd appreciate it if you would keep a good eye on CJ for me."

"Okay…" It was obvious that he wanted to say more.

"Spill it." Matt took a sip of the coffee.

"I…this is gonna sound stupid, especially at a time like this."

"What?"

"I don't know what to call you guys…you know…when it's official." He looked up to see a smile spread across the man's face.

"What do you want to call us?"

"I don't know."

"Well…" Houston took another sip. "Things like that have a way of just happening, bud. Like CJ's nickname."

"Babe?"

"Uh huh." He grinned. "That just…showed up on our honeymoon." Giving the boy a conspiratorial grin he continued. "I ain't gonna tell you _when_ it showed up…" Both chuckled. "But the point is it did and it fit. Just give it some time. And just so you know, I don't care what you call me…just as long as you call me, okay? I'll be proud to wear whatever name you give me. And to heck with the official; like Mama said…" Pointing to his heart Matt continued. "It's already official in here. It has been since the day we met." He held out his fist to the boy who smiled and bumped it, then went to join the others as CJ came over to sit with Matt along with Vince and Tony.

"Father-son chat?" The former cop gave his buddy a smile.

"Something like that." Houston opened the email from the LAPD and began reading. "Uh huh…well this is interesting." After looking to make sure that none of the kids were within earshot he continued. "Clarissa worked her way through school as a call girl. She had ads posted online and was caught in a sting conducted by the Indy PD - this was in her junior year in college. According to this one of her regular clients was fairly high up in the local crime food chain and she made a deal: all the charges against her got dropped and she testified against him in a murder case."

"So she got her advertising career started with sex ads, huh?" Vince shook his head and Matt and CJ both snickered as did Tony. "Sorry…it just seemed kind of funny."

"Anyway, she apparently went straight after her brush with the law back then. There are no other records on her."

"Who was the client that she testified against?" CJ took a sip of tea.

"Otto Julek. He had a hand in all kinds of enterprises – drugs, illegal liquor sales…" Matt read on. "…Even odometer tampering." He went back to the keyboard. "I've got some newspaper stories on the trial. Seems that he got a little hot under the collar when she was produced as a witness – he threatened her in open court." He continued to search and then leaned back in the chair. "Julek died in prison two years ago."

"You've got to wonder if the people at Xerxes, Robinson, and Widmark knew about all that." The lawyer looked at the group of men.

Houston picked up the coffee cup and downed about a third of it. "You know, I wonder…how did Paulie meet her?"

The priest spoke up. "Through her work. Quad S had hired her firm to advertise for them. He told me they met in the elevator at Quad S."

"I'm willing to bet that if she didn't have anything to do with the murder that she knows something about it." Vince tapped his index finger on the table. "Why else wouldn't she at least call us?"

"Don't know…" Matt got up and started pacing. "I think we need to have a chat with her, but I suspect the best time to do that would be tonight. I'd also like to talk with Paulie's boss – see what he was working on."

"They most likely won't tell you, hon. That place is super-secure." She watched as he continued to pace and then sat back down and leaned in, speaking directly to Tony.

"Have you heard anything from Michael today?"

"Not a word. I tried calling him – keep getting his voice mail on all three numbers." The priest shook his head. "I really don't understand what's going on with him."

"I think I know part of the reason he's so miffed at me…" Houston took another drink of coffee. "Maybe that's why he's acting toward Roy like he is…"

"Why would he be mad at you?"

"He called me, let's see…well, it was about four months before CJ and I got together - wanted to handle my stock investments."

"I had already told him you didn't invest anymore…I can't believe he called you." Vince slapped the table and leaned back in his chair.

"It didn't bother me – I just told him that I didn't have investments anymore. He didn't seem mad – just disappointed. That was right about the time that the market kinda took a dump. I figured he was just scouting for more clients." The PI shrugged.

All four got quiet. "CJ, why don't you try calling Clarissa's work and see if she's there? If so, then try to set up a time where we can, uh "visit" with her."

"Okay, anything else?"

"Not at the moment." Looking across at the two brothers Houston spoke again. "Fellas, I think we need to pay a little visit to Michael." He nodded in Mama's direction. "She needs all of her boys now."

"Let's go." Tony stood up and went to let Rosa know that they would be back in a little while.

"Cowboy…" CJ pulled her husband down for a kiss. "You stay out of trouble and don't lose your temper, hear me?"

"Yes ma'am." He took the coffee cup back over to the bar.

"It isn't him you need to worry about. He was the calm one this morning. I was the one who almost needed your legal services." Vince looked sheepishly at her.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

"What in the hell are _you_ doing here?" Michael Novelli looked up to see his two brothers and Houston standing in front of the table that he was occupying in a pub a couple of blocks east of his office. The three had first tried to find him at the Yates Brokerage Firm but were told that he had left early.

"We need to talk, Michael." Tony spoke on their behalf.

"Maybe you need to talk – I don't have anything to say to any of you."

"You know, you may be pissed at us and that's fine – but you need to at least go see Mama." Vince took a crack at it.

"Somehow the slap on the face didn't impart the desire for my company." Michael's words were just slightly slurred.

"She's upset." Tony sat down as did the other two.

"Well isn't this just cozy." Sarcasm from the man was dripping off of every syllable. "You mean Lover Boy isn't consoling her?"

"Would you lay off of Roy already?" The former cop kept his hands stuffed in his pockets in an attempt to keep from striking the younger man, a move which didn't go unnoticed by Matt.

"Look Big Brother, just because you approve of the two of them shacking up together doesn't mean I have to." He drank down the last of what was in his glass and signaled the waitress for another.

"Michael, they don't want to shack up together – that's the whole point of the marriage." Tony leaned forward. "Answer this for me: how much longer do you think Mama will be around?" His answer was a shrug. "How would you feel if she died in the next twenty four hours – and you still hadn't gone back to apologize?"

"Apologize?! Me?! You've gotta be kidding. _I_ was the one who got slapped - not just by her but by that old bastard."

Matt's eyes narrowed and Tony saw his jaw twitch as he struggled to maintain control.

"Why do you hate him so much? Is it because of Dad?" The priest had asked the question several times but never gotten an answer. His brother shrugged again. "Or is it because Houston didn't have any investments for you to manage?" Michael looked up, fire flashing in his eyes.

"I had already told you he didn't do that anymore." Vince shook his head.

"Like I'm supposed to believe that a damn millionaire doesn't have investments?" The stockbroker cut his eyes over at Matt.

"Michael, I explained to you when you called that all of that is gone; I don't have Houston Industries anymore. I've got the detective agency and I work with Derwin Dunlap. The only "investments" I have are in those two companies – unless you want to count the ranches." Houston was keeping his voice low.

"Sure, I'm gonna believe that."

"If I take you back to the hotel and pull up my financial information will that be good enough?" Houston was dead serious. "If I do that – will you go talk to your mom like a son?"

"That shouldn't have any bearing on him talking to her!" Vince looked between the two.

"I don't want to see it – or you three either." He took the drink from the waitress before she even set it down and half of it disappeared.

"Look, I think it's time to switch to some coffee, okay? Have a few cups and let's go back to the hotel so that you and Mama can talk." Tony reached over and put a hand on his brother's shoulder.

The growl that came out of the stock broker's mouth was completely unexpected as was the way he roughly removed his brother's hand. "Get the hell away from me."

Vince stood up, shaking with anger and looked across at Michael. "Just in case by some chance you care, Paulie is at Brookdale. You can see him tomorrow." He turned and started through the pub headed for the door, Matt following him as Tony sat and stared at his brother.

"What are you waiting for? Go on with your brothers there, Saint Tony." Michael watched as the priest silently got to his feet and scooted the chair up to the table.

"I'll pray for you, brother. God knows you need it." With that he turned and went out on the street where Vince was pacing back and forth as Matt stared up at the sky, leaning against the building. "Let's go."

Houston's phone rang. "Houston." He had seen Det. Marchetti's ID pop up on the screen.

"Just thought you would want to know – we've got another body that you might be interested in."

"Oh?"

"Clarissa Waverly was found about an hour ago floating in the East River just below the Brooklyn Bridge. The Coroner says it looks like she's been there since last night." The cop turned and looked as the van that contained the body pulled away.

"Damn. Okay…uh…do you mind…?"

"I would be surprised if you didn't show up." With that Marchetti hung up.

Passing along the information, Houston hailed a cab and as they rode southeast toward the river, Matt shook his head. Tony heard him mutter something under his breath. "What?"

"I just…" The PI looked at the two men next to him. "I never knew my mother and he doesn't appreciate the one that he has."

"He's an idiot." Tony's reply shocked his companions. "He is. I don't know what happened to him. Greed, maybe?" He shrugged his shoulders. "I can't waste any more time on him right now; Mama needs me. Michael needs to do some soul searching."

Several minutes later they were dropped off at the scene and were stopped at the edge of the tape by a uniformed officer. "Let 'em in, Keegan." Marchetti waved the three men over. "She was found by that guy over there. Old timer – out taking a walk and he stops to, uh…" He looked at the priest. "…to relieve himself and spots her floating just to the right of the bridge there. Somebody tried to weight her down but only one cement block stayed on her; it looks like the wire cut through her ankle – she's missing a foot. From the look of her ankles there was one on each to begin with." He pointed to a plastic crate where a gray concrete block was sitting along with a length of thin wire. The group walked over to look at it and Matt squatted down to get a closer look.

"Looks like speaker wire to me…what do you think?" He looked up at Vince.

"Yeah, I'd say that's it." The former cop walked over toward the water scanning the pavement as he went.

"Could they tell what the cause of death was?" Houston stood back up and popped his back.

"There were ligature marks on her neck so I'd say she was strangled with the wire before she was tied to the blocks." Marchetti nodded in the direction of the crate.

"Any idea on the depth where she was found?" Houston and the others walked over to stand next to Vince.

"Uh huh – at least ten feet deeper than the wire." Marchetti gave a smirk.

"So she wasn't anchored at all." Vince shook his head and looked upward at the bridge. "I seriously doubt if she was dropped from up there: too much traffic."

"I'm thinking she was dropped off of a boat or one of the piers…" Houston watched the flow of the water and then remembered that the East River wasn't really a river at all; it was a tidal strait, both ends of which connected to the Atlantic Ocean. "The tide here changes what...three or four times a day?"

Both of the Novellis and Marchetti looked disappointed that the Texan had figured it out. Vince smiled and shook his head. "And that right there is why I decided it was better to team up with him than butt heads with him back in LA. Not too bad for a Texan, Ace."

Marchetti looked out at the water. "It can change up to four times a day and depending on the conditions…" He snapped his fingers. "It can happen just like that."

"Makes for a dangerous swimming hole." Houston looked up and down the waterway. "Well, it seems like the best thing to do would be to check for video surveillance from some of the piers."

"I've already got people on it." The New York detective gave Matt a look. "Agent Bateaux of the FBI sends his regards. He found out I ran a check on you and gave me a very informative phone call. Maybe you aren't so bad to have around after all." He watched as a pair of crime scene techs loaded the crate in a van. "I think we're done here."

"Need some help looking through the surveillance?" The cowboy and the two brothers followed Marchetti toward his car.

"Get in." The cop slid behind the wheel and the three men grinned at each other as the doors closed.

"Guess I better let CJ know what's going on." Matt pulled out his phone and hit CJ's number on speed dial, explaining to her what had happened and where they were going to be. "How's everybody doing on that end?"

"Pretty good; Mama and Uncle Roy are going out to dinner tonight and the boys want to go back to the diner. Other than that, there isn't much else going on. Oh, and Tomás finished the cover for the program. It's absolutely beautiful, hon."

"Tell him we want to see it when we get back. I'm not sure what time that'll be…will you be alright?"

"I'm fine. Sheila and Catey called a little while ago. I think she took Mama's mind off her problems for a few minutes and kept everybody entertained."

"I miss the little booger." He reached up popping Vince on the back of the head as he began carrying on. "Might need my lawyer. My goofy brother is being his normal self."

"Glad to hear it. You boys be good and I'll see you later. Love you, Cowboy."

"Love you, Babe. 'Bye." He put the phone back in his pocket. Marchetti had been observing the whole routine and shook his head as Matt filled in the Novelli brothers on the happenings while they were gone.

"Good." Tony nodded. "I think Mama and Roy need some time together."

Once they were at the station and issued visitor passes, the three followed Marchetti into the squad room and began going through the videos that had been collected in the area. All was normal until Vince suddenly called the others over to the computer that he was using. "Think we've got something, guys." The other three gathered around. "It's mostly shadows right here…" He started the playback. They all watched and it was obvious that a struggle of some sort was going on before one of the participants hit the concrete of the pier. "It's Clarissa." They continued to watch and could see the assailant remove the wire from her neck. In another minute the body went into the water and began drifting northeast.

"I don't think our killer thought this through…" Matt began pacing. "The wire was alright as a murder weapon, but definitely wasn't strong enough for the concrete block routine…plus there wasn't enough of it to do a good job. And dropping a body right next to the pier is just down right stupid."

"So maybe it was a spur-of-the-moment type thing?" Tony looked between the other three men.

"Could be." Marchetti drank down the rest of his coffee. "So now we know how and where she was killed – Pier 11 - but once again we don't know who."

"If the lab could get some usable epithelials off of the wire, but I doubt that will happen…" Vince shrugged. "I think we need to go check out her apartment."

"We need to look at Paulie's, too." Matt nodded. "Have you got a key?" He looked to Tony who nodded.

"We already went through there yesterday." Marchetti spoke up.

"But Tony here might be able to tell us if anything is out of place." Vince nodded at his youngest brother.

"What about his office?" Houston looked to the NYPD detective.

"We looked yesterday but nothing out of the ordinary was there." Pulling his keys out of his pocket the cop picked up his jacket once again. "Let's hit Clarissa's apartment first." He picked up the phone and arranged for a crime scene tech to meet them there and the four men boarded the elevator.

Once in the car, Matt pulled out his phone and called the ranch. "Hey there, Miss Sheila. How're y'all doing?"

"We're just fine. Catey took Cricket and Jasper some carrots a little while ago and we've been in the pool today. Want to talk to her?" The nanny smiled knowing that was exactly why he had called.

"Sure – if she's not too busy." Matt hit the speaker button as Catey began talking and all four men smiled as the little girl began telling her daddy all about her day. After a few minutes of conversation, the cowboy wrapped up the call. "Love you bunches, Lady Bug."

"Love you, Daddy. Be good."

"Yes ma'am. You be good for Miss Sheila, okay?" He laughed as she agreed and then ended the call.

"That kid is quite the talker. Phew!" Tony shook his head as they laughed.

"Must get it from her Mama." Matt smiled proudly as he looked at the wallpaper on his phone, a picture of Catey and Tilly taken a few days before.

After waiting a few minutes outside of Clarissa Waverly's apartment for the tech to show up, they donned gloves and entered, Vince letting out a whistle. "This girl must have made some good money…an apartment like this doesn't come cheap and neither is the furniture."

"You got that right." Marchetti entered the kitchen area and looked around. "It doesn't look like she used anything but the fridge and the microwave." Houston had spied a laptop on a table in the living room and went straight to it. "We'll get one of the…Ooookay…never mind." The cop watched as Matt got past the feeble security on the device and began going through the contents.

After several minutes during which Vince and Marchetti searched the apartment along with the tech, the PI spoke up. "Hey y'all…" The others came back to the living room. "I think I just figured out how she paid for all of this." He motioned to the apartment. "I found her "little black book" so to speak – and her bank statements."


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

Father Tony Novelli used his key to open the door to Paulie's apartment. As Vince walked inside he smiled sadly. "Some things never change I guess." On the living room walls were cling-on graphics of the New York Yankees, Paulie's favorite baseball team. He felt Houston's hand on his shoulder and shook his head before the group began walking through the apartment. After going through the residence which consisted of a tiny kitchen, a bedroom, bathroom, and the small living room the four men stood silently looking around.

"So does anything seem out of place?" Marchetti looked at the priest who shook his head no and then stopped suddenly as a thought came to him.

"The briefcase…did you find his briefcase at the office?"

"No, there wasn't anything like that there." Marchetti shook his head.

"Mama gave him a briefcase when he took the job at Quad S." Vince spoke up and looked between Houston and Marchetti.

"He always had it coming or going from work – even when we would meet for lunch. He had it Monday." Tony and the others spread out, searching the apartment but coming up empty-handed. "So where is it now? And I don't see his computer anywhere."

"Good question." Matt rubbed at the beard on his face. Pacing back and forth, the PI ended up at the window overlooking the street below. "Paulie was left handed."

"Yeah." Vince watched as his best friend worked through the thought.

"Most likely he carried it in his left hand…" Houston turned and faced the other three men. "When he was found at the park, his left hand was in the water: is it possible the briefcase went into the pond or could someone have taken it? Maybe that's why they killed him – for the briefcase?"

Marchetti looked at his watch. "I'll have to see about getting a diver."

"How deep is the water right there?" Matt and Vince exchanged a look.

"I don't know - maybe six or eight feet right there at the edge?" The cop looked at the pair.

"We don't need one - let's go." Houston led the way out of the apartment and the others followed, Tony locking the door and then catching up with them at the elevator.

"What about diving gear?" Marchetti punched the button for the ground floor.

"It isn't that deep – we'll just need a waterproof light." Vince looked to Matt who nodded.

"We've got it." He patted on his shirt pocket where the camera that he had used earlier in the day was residing. "But we will need some shorts." The cowboy grinned as they exited the elevator. "Let's swing by the hotel."

As they stepped off of the elevator at the Clariday, the group of men came upon the rest of the Novellis who were just getting back from the diner. After introducing Detective Marchetti to the group, Matt and Vince retrieved some shorts from their luggage and changed, both kissing their wives before leaving with the detective who had informed the two ladies of what their husbands would be attempting to do. "That's quite a group you guys have there."

Vince elbowed Matt and jerked his head in his direction. "If this guy keeps on the way he is we'll have to rent out the entire hotel."

Marchetti had arranged for a team of CSI's to meet the group at the Turtle Pond and they already had several work lights set up as the two friends carefully entered the water together, Vince shivering slightly. "Not exactly as warm as Waikiki, huh?"

"Nope. Kinda reminds me of the Marcos Marina this past January." Houston took a big breath and the two went down into the murky water of the pond, the PI with the tiny camera already recording. They began by searching the area right next to where Paulie's left hand had been dangling in the water. Matt was relatively sure that the case wasn't right there: he would have felt it with the magnet that he had used earlier. After surfacing for a breath, the pair resumed their search, this time further out from shore. On the way over to the scene they had devised a plan of searching in an arc traveling out from the location of Paulie's hand. If that didn't produce, they would expand the area. After resurfacing and diving several times they headed more to the left and about thirty feet away from the edge of the pond, hitting paydirt. Resting at the bottom of the pond in about fifteen feet of water was the briefcase. Vince resurfaced and passed on that they had found it while Matt stayed below to get video of it before coming topside again, handing the case off to Vince who swam to the shore, handing it over to a tech.

As he offered a hand to Houston to help him out of the pond, Vince spoke. "It's pretty heavy – I bet his computer was in there."

"Could be." Matt gratefully took a towel from one of the cops on scene and began drying off as the case was bagged and tagged, he and Vince rode back to the Clariday with Marchetti, ready to sit down and relax a little bit with the rest of the family. When they got back, Rosa and Roy had returned and after Houston and Vince had hit the showers, the three men brought the couple up to date on what they had so far.

"You know, you three make a pretty good team." Roy looked at the men. "Tony, have you thought about changing your career?"

"Don't think so, Roy. I believe I'm doing what I was called to do. But it is interesting seeing Big Bro and Houston doing what they're good at."

"They make a great team." CJ was sitting on one of the sofas, Matt wearing a pair of jeans and stretched out with his head resting in her lap enjoying the backrub that she was giving him.

"Speaking of team…" Vince threw a piece of paper at Matt who appeared near-dozing. "…are you going to try out for a job as a wrestler? You've really been pumping some iron, Ace."

"Nooooo, don't think that's gonna happen; just trying to keep somewhat in shape." The PI yawned and sat up on the couch stretching.

"Nice tats by the way. Vince told me about them." Tony grinned.

Matt looked at his chest and his arm. "Guess I'll get to add three more names now instead of two, ain't that right Tomás?" He tossed the paper at the boy.

"You don't have to do that." The fifteen year old looked up at him.

"Have you changed your mind?"

"No sir."

"Got a problem being inked onto my arm?"

"No sir."

"Then I get to add three." He grinned as the teen tossed the paper back at him, that was met with a thrown pillow, starting a big commotion that involved not only Tomás but all of the Novelli boys.

Friday morning found Matt and Vince deep in conversation over a cup of coffee while they pored over the video that he had shot the night before. The boys were sleeping in and Roy and Rosa were quietly talking as they looked out over the city. "You know, I was thinking last night: that briefcase was a pretty good distance away from the shoreline…" Matt took another thoughtful sip. "As heavy as it was that took a little work to get it there. Now if you were a bad guy, wouldn't you take the case to see what was in it and then get rid of it elsewhere?"

"Uh huh…I was thinking that, too. I bet when things started going south Paulie threw it out there. Do you think they can recover anything off of the computer?"

"I'd say it's likely…and I'd say that's why Paulie probably threw it on out there a good ways." He downed the rest of the cup and refilled both coffee cups and brewed CJ a cup of her peppermint tea as she joined them. "What I really want to do is get a crack at Clarissa's bank statements. I've got a feeling that's gonna shed some light on things."

"Not to mention her little black book as you called it last night." Vince nodded and began on the fresh cup of coffee.

"CJ, I want you to dig into Clarissa's financials – see if she had an offshore account that isn't on her computer records…find out everything you possibly can about her."

"I can do it." She sipped the tea. "I take it you boys will be with Detective Marchetti again?"

"I'm gonna try. Bet he doesn't try to throw us out of there today." The PI snickered and then became serious as he looked at Vince. "When are y'all going to see Paulie?"

"11:00."

"The first thing I want to do when we talk to Marchetti is see about getting the ME's report amended…obviously it wasn't suicide. That way…" He motioned with his hands. "…y'all can get things moving along so Mama won't be left hanging and can try to move on…but that won't be easy."

"Yeah." Vince looked over at his mother who was still talking seriously to Roy, and sighed. "I still can't figure out the deal with Michael." He watched the pair for another minute and then looked to CJ. "Did she happen to say anything to you about their conversation at dinner last night?"

"Not a word. I've got a feeling that it had to do with marriage, though. Both she and Roy have been pretty tight lipped." Taking a sip of the tea she watched the pair for a moment. "But I'll tell you this…" She patted Vince's hand. "I've got a feeling it won't be long before they tie the knot."

"What makes you say that?" The former cop watched the couple again.

"Womanly intuition." The lawyer winked at him and opened up the computer that was sitting there, getting started on Matt's request for offshore accounts.

"Guess we better get to it." Houston stood up and drained his cup before leaning over to give CJ a kiss goodbye. "You don't overdo it today, okay Lil Mama?"

"I won't. And don't you get into any trouble today, Cowboy."

As they rode to the police station, Matt shook his head and grumbled. "What?" Vince turned his head from the window to look at the PI.

"I miss my truck." He moved his legs, trying to get them stretched out in the limited room of the backseat of the cab.

Once at the station, the pair picked up the passes that Marchetti had authorized for them and made their way up to the squad room where the detective was just pulling off his jacket. "You two sure didn't sleep in today, did you?"

"Nope." Matt pulled over an unoccupied chair and straddled it, resting his arms and chin on the back. "How hard do you think it would be to talk to someone at the ME's office about changing the cause of death from suicide to homicide now that we've got a little more on it?"

"Done." Marchetti grinned. "I did that when I first got here. If all works out we should have it by the end of the day…or at least by Monday." He looked to Vince. "You know how it goes."

"Yeah. I appreciate it."

"Where's the other Stooge?" Marchetti looked at the pair.

"He's going to be in charge of taking Mama to the funeral home. We're supposed to be there at 11:00."

"Maybe by then we'll have something else for her." Marchetti nodded. "The techs are working on the computer. I spoke to one of them earlier and he was practically drooling over it. Evidently your brother had good taste in computers."

"Yeah, with a little help." The former cop nodded in Matt's direction. "He and Paulie designed it and had it specially made by Dunlap Computers."

"That's one reason why I think we might be able to get some information off of it. We designed it to be water resistant. If he had it in the neoprene case that we had made for it and it didn't sustain much damage otherwise, it could be a big help…depending, of course, on what's on there."

Leaning back in the chair the cop looked at Houston over his coffee cup. "I gotta ask: what DON'T you do? My son tells me you were the one that came up with the "Alien Armory" video game series."

"Weird dreams can come in handy sometimes." The PI grinned. "Now back to it: you've already dealt with the ME's office, the techs are working on the computer, so what about Clarissa's bank statements and black book?"

Nodding at the terminal in front of him, Marchetti spoke again. "That's what I was about to get into." The other two drug their chairs around and watched as the cop began going through the statements.

"We could kill two birds with one stone if I was to go through the black book while you're doing that." Houston cocked his head at the cop.

"Alright…" Marchetti pulled a flash drive out of an envelope attached to the case file and tossed it to him. "Snag that computer right there and have at it."

Matt popped the flash drive into the side of the computer and began looking through the information. From the looks of it, Clarissa had kept the list since her college days: Otto Julek was in there as well as a few other men from Indianapolis. The list contained names, dates, and what appeared to the PI to be amounts of money that she had received. He stopped when he came to the name Xerxes. Pulling out his phone and dialing CJ, Matt continued to read. "Hey, which partner at the advertising firm did Clarissa sue?"

"That would be Phillip Xerxes. Did you find something?"

"I believe so…I'm going through the black book and just found several entries for him; looks like she got him for about $150,000 before the suit was filed." He continued to look. "And this is interesting, too. Hey guys…" Waving the other two over he pointed at the screen. "Maybe her home address wasn't such a coincidence after all. Shannon Swafford is in here and it looks like she had her hooks into him for almost $200,000." Vince let out a low whistle.

"We definitely need to have a chat with him." Marchetti wrote down the information that the PI had found on Swafford and returned to his desk to place a phone call.

"Babe…" Matt kept his voice low. "Dig into him as far as you can without getting spotted, okay?"

"You got it, Cowboy. Love you."

"Love you. 'Bye." He hung up, exchanging a look with Vince who had overheard the conversation and nodded his head. Continuing on through the list Matt almost choked when he read one name. "Vince…" He silently pointed at the screen where the name Michael Novelli showed several entries.

"I'm gonna kill him." Although the former cop hadn't yelled it, Matt knew at that moment that if it was indeed possible for the man to commit homicide, his brother would be dead.

Marchetti hung up and looked back at the pair. "What?"

Matt motioned to the screen where the detective saw the name. "Where is he right now?"

"I have no idea…we're not exactly on speaking terms at the moment." Vince's jaw twitched in anger.

"Look pard…" The PI looked at his watch: it was almost 10:00. "Why don't you go on back to the hotel and help Tony deal with taking Mama to see Paulie. You don't need to be anywhere around Michael right now. Okay?"

"Yeah…" Vince swallowed hard, tears not far away. "I swear, if he had anything to do with Paulie's murder…"

"Shhh…keep your cool, bud. Keep this to yourself and go take care of Mama. Let Marchetti and me deal with this right now, okay?"

"Yeah…thanks." He got to his feet, his shoulders looking as if he was carrying the weight of the world on them as he silently headed for the elevator.

While Marchetti stopped to talk to his lieutenant for a minute, Matt called CJ. "Babe, it looks like Michael might be involved in this somehow. Don't let anyone know what you're doing, but dig up whatever you can on him." He told her that Vince was on the way and that he would call her as soon as he knew something else.

"Ready?" Marchetti donned his jacket and the two hit the elevator. "Your friend's day just went from bad to worse from the look of it."

"Yeah, not what he or the rest of the family needs right now." Matt stared sullenly at the changing numbers as the elevator descended.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

"Good morning. May I help you?" The pretty but efficient looking receptionist for Xerxes, Robinson, and Widmark smiled up at Anthony Marchetti and Houston in the lobby for the advertising firm. After showing his badge, the cop informed her that he needed to speak with Mr. Xerxes. "I'm sorry, Detective, but he's got a full schedule today." She flipped through the pages of a notebook. "It just isn't possible."

"Oh, it's possible alright." Matt had looked up the man's profile on Mugbook and knew what he looked like. Xerxes had just stepped off of the elevator and was heading down the central hallway of the suite of offices as the PI took off after him. The security guard assigned to him held out his arm as Matt got close. "Phillip Xerxes…"

A man of about fifty with just the right amount of graying hair at his temples turned toward the PI looking somewhat shocked. "I'm sorry – I'm rather busy at the moment. You can make an appointment…"

"No sir." Marchetti flashed the badge once again. "We need to speak with you now."

"That just isn't possible, gentlemen." He tried giving them a smile and although his too-white teeth were showing, his eyes were anything but smiling.

"Yes sir, it is. You can either talk with us voluntarily - or not." The detective pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

"What in the world is this about?"

"Possibly two murders – do you want to talk out here where everyone can hear? Or would you prefer to go into your office? Your only other choice is to come down to the station." The cop began clicking the cuffs. Heads in the lobby were starting to turn and a murmur went up.

"I believe I can spare a moment or two for New York's Finest. Please…" He motioned down the hallway, and Houston and Marchetti fell into step behind him, the security guard giving both men a dirty look. Once they entered Xerxes' private office, the smile disappeared and was replaced with a snarl. "I hope you two are prepared for the consequences of this little visit."

"Mr. Xerxes, what can you tell us about Clarissa Waverly?"

The executive was taken aback. "Clarissa Waverly? She's a media planner. What about her?"

"For starters, she's dead." Matt gauged the man's expression and noted first shock and then fear.

"I…what in the world happened to her?"

"Why don't you tell us about your relationship first?" Marchetti stared at him.

"We, uh…we went out a few times. Nothing serious. She's done a great job here. I really don't know what else to say."

"Why did you pay her almost $150,000?"

"I…" The man suddenly sat down in the chair behind his desk. "Gentlemen, I'm married. Clarissa and I were having an affair. She…" He shrugged.

"She was blackmailing you – is that it?" Houston spoke up again.

"Yes. She was…she even filed a sexual harassment suit against me. When I offered her a promotion, she dropped the suit. I haven't spoken to her since." All of Xerxes' suave behavior that he had displayed in the lobby was gone and he was sitting there obviously scared. "Look, once she got made a media planner that was it – she left me alone." No one spoke for a minute. "I've been completely honest with you, Detective. I could have just told you to speak to my lawyer, but I didn't."

"When was the last time you saw her?" The cop had his notebook and pen out.

"When I made the deal for the promotion. It was…" He shrugged. "…over a year ago I guess."

"We need you to come down and make a statement."

"Does it have to be right this minute?" The advertising executive noticed the grumpy look from both men. "Can I be there about noon?"

"No later." Marchetti handed him a card. "If you don't show up we'll come give you a ride…with the cuffs. Understand?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll be there." He swallowed nervously as the two men left the office.

Once back at the car, Matt slid into the front seat and checked his watch: almost 11:00AM. "So – who do you want to hit next?"

"Let's try for Swafford." The cop merged into the traffic and the pair rode along in silence. "Look, it would help if I knew a little about what was going on with your friend and his brother." Anthony looked across at the PI.

"I'm not totally sure." He explained what little he knew about the disagreement over Roy and Rosa's possible marriage and then told Marchetti about the phone call he had received concerning the investments that Michael wanted him to make.

"Hmmm…" As he cursed under his breath at the traffic the cop thought on the situation. "Do you know of any reason he might have had to kill Paul?"

"No." Matt looked out the window. "The only connection that I can see other than the fact that Paulie and Michael are brothers is Clarissa. Jealousy maybe?"

"That's what I'm thinking." They pulled into the parking garage in the building where the offices of Quad S Cyber Security Solutions were located and rode up to the tenth floor. After flashing his badge, Marchetti asked to speak to Shannon Swafford.

"Mr. Swafford isn't in today. Would you like for me to have him call you?" The receptionist's pen hovered over a message pad.

"No, we need to speak with him immediately. Do you know if he's at his residence?"

"I really couldn't say, sir. I was just told that he wouldn't be in today."

"Okay, thanks." They turned and boarded the elevator. "Let's try his apartment."

Matt nodded and looked at his watch again. He had intended to be at the funeral home with the rest of the Novellis but thought that trying to catch Paulie's killer was more important at the moment. CJ was probably with them and he was hoping to have some news from her soon about her research. His phone buzzed as a text came in from her. _Swafford's information is a no-go. Michael has had $ problems over the last three years. Details in your email. Love, CJ._

"Anything?" Marchetti looked over at the PI as he began working the phone.

"CJ was working on trying to get more information on Swafford for us but he's got it safe-guarded really well. If she can't get into it…" He shook his head. "She also said that Michael has been having financial problems for the last three years. It's in my email." After pulling up his account, the PI opened the mail from his wife. "Looks like he's just barely hanging on. His car got repoed…" Continuing to read he shrugged. "He's working on barebones right now."

At Swafford's apartment building the two men emerged from the vehicle and made their way up to the seventh floor. Ringing the bell, the detective looked around at their quiet surroundings. He noticed that Matt was making note of security camera locations. There was no answer to the bell, so the cop rang again and it was then that they heard someone moving around inside.

"Who is it?" The male voice on the other side of the door sounded slurred.

"NYPD, Mr. Swafford…open up, please." The sound of deadbolts being removed was heard and then the door was opened a couple of inches, the chain still in place. Marchetti showed the badge again and the door was opened the rest of the way.

"C'mon in." Shannon Swafford crossed the room and went to the bar, pouring himself a drink. "Can I get you one?"

"No thanks. What we need from you is a little information on Clarissa Waverly." Marchetti exchanged a look with Houston as the security executive spilled bourbon on the bar top as he poured his drink. From the look of him, Swafford had been drinking heavily for some time; his nose was bright red, his eyes bloodshot, and his step unsteady as he sank down into a nearby chair.

"Ah Clarissa…" Swafford raised his glass in a toast. "Quite the lady…but maybe lady isn't exactly the right term." He hiccupped.

"So she was blackmailing you, right?" Matt took a seat on the sofa opposite the drunken man.

"No." He shook his head, all the while staring into his drink. Swirling the contents he spoke again. "She's the reason for my divorce." Chuckling, he took another drink and settled back into the chair. "You know you always hear about the other woman…she wants the man to get divorced and marry her?" The other two men nodded. "Nope, not it." He shook his head. "I was the one who went ahead with the divorce and then asked her to marry me." His voice went flat. "She wasn't interested in marriage."

The two detectives exchanged another look. Softly, Matt spoke again. "So what happened after you proposed?"

"She laughed at me…called me a stupid romantic." More of the drink was consumed. "I kept trying to change her mind, but that divorce cost me a lot…not just money mind you. Not only did I lose my wife because of it but my son absolutely refuses to have anything to do with me." Swafford was near tears. "And you know, that hurts more than anything else in the world. I would give anything to undo all the damage that I've done, but it just doesn't work that way."

"What other damage have you done?" Houston kept his tone low, Marchetti letting him take the lead.

"I figured that's why you were here." Swafford downed the rest of the drink, set the glass down on an end table and held out his wrists. "I think I killed her."

"You think you killed her…but you're not sure?" The PI tried to keep his voice as calm as it had been.

"I don't know. I've been drinking- obviously. I came to the other night out on Pier 11. There was some wire in my lap and what looked like some of her hair caught up in it."

"But did you actually see her that night?"

"Yeah…I talked her into meeting me there. Actually I bribed her into meeting me there. Told her I'd give her $10,000 just to talk to me…and she did. Most of the time she laughed at me, though, instead of listening."

"Do you remember anything else?"

"No. I remember trying to talk to her and the next thing I knew I had a hell of a hangover and was lying on the pier with the wire in my lap."

Marchetti spoke up. "Do you still have it?"

"Yeah, it's uh…" Swafford tried to stand but wasn't having much luck at getting out of the chair.

"Tell me where it is."

"In the pocket of a tan jacket – it's on the bed." He motioned toward a hallway and Marchetti went that way.

Matt picked the conversation back up. "But you don't actually remember doing anything to her?"

"No, I guess I blacked out." He began crying. "God, I've made a mess of my life. It was going so good…until Clarissa came along."

Marchetti returned from the bedroom and nodded at Houston while on the phone with the CSI division.

"What do you know about Paul Novelli?" Matt watched Swafford and his gut instinct told him that something was off.

"Good guy." Swafford nodded as he swiped at tears. "He's doing a hell of a job."

"Did you know he was murdered?" The PI watched his reaction.

"No." Shock showed through the drunkenness of Swafford's face.

"Sometime Tuesday night. Can you tell us where you were then?"

"I…I think I was here. What is today?"

"Friday."

"I'm not sure…oh my God." He leaned forward, his head in his hands. It was then that the two detectives noticed that some of the man's hair was matted with blood on the back of his head.

"I think he needs to get examined by a doc." Matt spoke quietly to the cop who nodded his agreement and called for an ambulance.

As the paramedics arrived, helped Swafford onto the gurney and then secured him, he looked up at Marchetti as his hands were restrained. "Do you have kids?"

"Yeah – got a boy who's eleven." The cop almost felt sorry for the guy.

"Don't ever let him down – no matter what." Swafford began crying again as the medics rolled him out of the apartment and the crime scene techs moved in to collect the wire and hair and scour the home for whatever else could be found.

Back out on the street, Matt took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Clarissa Waverly had really been a piece of work. She seemed to leave destruction in her path wherever she went.

Marchetti removed the keys from his pocket. "So ready to hit Michael's apartment?"

"Yeah, I guess so…" Houston's phone rang and he answered it. "Yeah, Babe?"

"Matt, you need to get to the funeral home now. Michael showed up and I'm afraid there's going to be a fight." The normally cool and collected lawyer sounded scared.

"Be right there." He hung up and told the cop what was going on.

"Oh great." Hitting the lights and siren, Marchetti pulled away from the curb and made his way through traffic, turning off the siren about a block from the funeral home and double-parking out front. By the time he was out of the car, Houston was already going through the front door.

The first sound he heard was that of Rosa Novelli sobbing, while the voices of Vince, Tony, and Michael were raised as well as a couple of the Novelli boys. He found his way into the chapel where Paulie's body was and made it to the group just as Michael made a lunge for Vince, knocking all four of Vince's sons to the floor in the process. Matt launched himself and tackled the stockbroker who began blindly swinging at him, cursing him while young Tony hauled off and punched him in the jaw. It didn't take long for the PI to maneuver the attacker around and get his hands behind his back and cuff him as the curses continued to flow from Michael's lips. "Shut up." With the help of Marchetti, Houston pulled him to his feet where he continued to curse.

As Marchetti began to lead him out of the chapel, Matt spoke to him. "Can you give me a couple of minutes?"

"Take your time." The cop nodded and jerked Michael back around in front of him, twisting the cuffs upward in order to have better control of the stockbroker.

"Y'all okay?" The PI looked at the boys who were still looking slightly shocked by what had happened, except for Tony who just looked angry beyond measure. The other three nodded, but the youngest boy continued to stare up the aisleway where his uncle had just been led out. Putting an arm around his buddy, Matt pulled him close. "Calm down, now, okay? For your grandma." The boy nodded and went to his grandmother who was now surrounded by the rest of the family in an attempt to calm her. After making sure that everyone was alright, Matt pulled Vince aside, explaining to him what had happened so far. "I'm going back to it if you think y'all will be okay here."

"Yeah, we're going back to the hotel." Vince was still angry but his color had returned. "Thanks."

"Not a problem." As he started to leave, the PI noticed young Tony standing apart from the others once again and walked back over to him. "Nice punch, pard. Did it make you feel any better?"

"No."

"I thought not. Go help with your grandma, okay?"

"Yes sir." Tony turned and went back to the rest of the family as Matt gave CJ a quick peck on the cheek and walked back up the aisle, joining Marchetti as a patrol car ferried Michael off to the station.

Giving a big sigh as he got into the car, Matt rubbed his temples. Neither man spoke for a minute. "That kid's got quite a punch." Marchetti snickered. "Bet his uncle's gonna feel that one for a day or two."

"Yep, that's my boy." Matt gave a slight smile.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

"Do you really think I'm going to say anything to you?! Are you seriously that stupid?!" Michael Novelli glared at Matt and Marchetti as they sat down across from him. "I want a lawyer – RIGHT NOW!"

"I've already sent for one. I just thought you'd like to know about the charges that you're facing – as of right now. There's attempted assault, reckless endangerment times four for the kids…actually that could be child abuse. I'll have to check with the DA and see how he wants to go on that. Where was I? Oh yeah, drunk and disorderly…"

"Disturbing the peace comes to mind." Houston took a sip of coffee and stared angrily across at the stockbroker, finding it hard to believe that he was actually Vince Novelli's brother. "Not really a wise thing to do in a funeral home."

"Shut up." Novelli glared at the man. "You know, I believe Vince cares more about you than me – his own flesh and blood."

"After the way you acted in there? It's easy to understand." Marchetti gave a chuckle. "I haven't known them but a couple of days and I can tell you this man has been more of a brother to him than you."

"Where's my lawyer?"

"On the way."

"So while we're just sitting here waiting on the lawyer, Michael…" Matt's tone had lowered and his eyes were snakelike looking across the table at the stockbroker. "Tell us about your relationship with Clarissa." He was glad to see the shocked look that came across the face opposite of him.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You should – she got about two hundred grand from you." The PI continued to stare.

"I don't know anything…"

"We've got her records and bank statements, Novelli." Marchetti took another sip. "You'd be wise to talk."

"Not without a lawyer."

"That's your right." The cop started to leave, but noticed that Matt hadn't budged; he was still staring intently at his best friend's brother.

"How could you act like that in front of Mama?" The PI's voice was very low, just above a whisper but had the intended effect: Michael looked down where his hands were shackled to the table in the interrogation room.

"She isn't your "Mama" so don't call her that."

"From the day I met her she told me to call her that."

"Stupidity on her part; look what it got her – you almost killed Vince."

"No, I didn't. We were working a case together." The PI continued to stare and his voice stayed low. "You know, Vince and I stayed awake all night staking out an apartment waiting in case those lowlifes showed up. We spent the whole night talking." There was a pause as he took a long swallow of the coffee. "I told him things that up until that time only certain family members and CJ knew…and a couple of things even they didn't know. We had been close before that night – but that was when we started calling each other brother. It was kind of a joke at first, but by the time the sun rose it wasn't a joke. And when the shots rang out and he hit the ground…it wasn't anywhere near a joke." Michael had looked up at him then. "I remember picking you up at the airport – you and Tony and Paulie. When you got to the hospital you cried and cried. Now look at you." He leaned forward. "Michael, do you have any idea how bad you could have hurt him today if you had landed a punch just the right way? Vince can't take that anymore. He's lucky to be alive and be able to do as much as he can."

Novelli shook his head and looked down at the shackles. "I didn't…" He shook his head. "I never wanted to really hurt him. I didn't mean for it to go that far." He reached up and rubbed his jaw.

"How's that feeling?"

"It hurts like hell."

"Know who hit you?"

"You I guess."

"Nope – your nephew Tony." He appreciated the look of shock that came into the man's eyes and then the look of sadness. "Eleven years old and he was put in a situation where he had to defend his dad – right along with his brothers." Houston stood and began pacing. "Those boys are close. They fight – oh, be sure of that. They have their little spats…but when it matters they've got each other's backs." He leaned forward with his hands on the table and looked at Michael. "From what I've heard that's how it used to be with you and your brothers. Now there's a wedge driven in between you – and now one of you is dead…and if you didn't kill him I think you know exactly who did it, Michael."

Novelli's head shot up and an angry look flashed from his eyes. "How can you say that?"

"Because there is something wrong – something is flat out rotten and it stinks to high heaven; and you are a big part of this whole thing. You know it and I know it. Now spit it out." The two stared at each other for a minute, neither willing to give in. "If this had been four years ago, would you have acted like you did to your own mother? Michael…" The PI stood back up and began pacing. "I know about your financial problems. Clarissa took you to the cleaners and when you were tapped out she moved on to the next mark. But you wanted her back." He looked at Vince's brother. "Paulie worked for a highly-respected company that dealt with multi-million dollar corporations…all kinds of sensitive information was literally at his fingertips. And you knew that." Michael continued to stay silent. "And I'll just bet when you hit rock bottom you called on your brother and asked him to give you a little inside information on some of his company's clients – something that could help you gain a little ground – gain a foothold with them to rebuild your career that was crashing down around your feet. Didn't you?" There was nothing but a blank look at the table top for a response. "DIDN'T YOU?!" The shout made the stockbroker jump and he nodded. "But Paulie was a straight arrow – he wouldn't do that and it pissed you off to no end. That's when your relationship with the family started changing." He watched as Michael's face began to crumple and he nodded, tears silently beginning to fall. "So you thought about Clarissa – how much you wanted her back and you thought of a way to get both: the money and the girl - because without the money you wouldn't have the girl, would you?" The man agreed. "You set her up with Shannon Swafford first. Swafford fell for her, but he wasn't going to betray his company. After he threw away his wife and kid in order to keep her, she dropped him like a hot potato. So you set her up with Paulie." Michael nodded. "You knew that he didn't have the money she wanted but could get her information that she could use not just on Quad S but their clients as well – and so could you."

"Yes." It was a hollow sound that came from Novelli's mouth.

"Tell me the rest of it." Matt exchanged a look with Marchetti who shook his head in disbelief.

"She did everything she could think of to put him in a compromising position but…" Michael swiped at the tears. "…Paulie just…he was such a gentleman. It didn't work. And then she went and…" He shook his head.

"She fell in love with him." Houston finished the sentence.

"Yeah…I couldn't believe…"

"So there you were…ass-out, no girl, no money, no prospects…and your brother was doing so good."

"He was always so…perfect – even when we were kids. He and Vince were really tight – they shared a room. Tony and I shared another." The tears got heavier. "Even back then when we were kids, Tony knew he wanted to be a priest. He was the perfect one, the youngest, the baby…he could do no wrong. And of course Vince was the oldest – he could do anything because he was sooooo responsible – and Paulie right along with him. I was just…kind of there. Do you have any idea what that's like?"

"No…but I would have given anything to have a brother, not to mention a mother." Houston's voice had gone back to being quiet and low. Michael hung his head. "So, what happened?"

"She was thrilled – going to marry Paulie, had a nice little nest egg put away, and had plans to just settle down with him and raise a family. IT WASN'T FAIR!" The stockbroker hit the table with his fist.

"So you decided to do what?"

"If she had him she didn't need the money and if I had the money…" He shrugged. "So I decided to blackmail her." Michael shook his head. "Only it didn't work. She was going to make one more score. See, she had been stringing Scott Sage along. I didn't know about that one until I overheard a phone conversation at Paulie's apartment." Swiping at his nose he looked up at Matt. "Sage was going to pay her $200,000 to get rid of her before his wife found out about them. They were going to meet at the Turtle Pond for the payoff. Paulie knew something wasn't right and had followed her there. Then Sage put his hands on her – tried to strangle her – and Paulie pulled his gun. Clarissa begged him not to shoot Sage, and when his attention was on her, Sage took the gun, knocked him down and pulled the trigger."

"And Clarissa told you all of this?" Marchetti had sat back down at the table.

"Yeah." Tears began to fall heavily. "She was scared and ran away. I went to her apartment and that's when Swafford called her. She offered to give me the ten grand that he was going to pay her and she was leaving town. But I followed her out there Wednesday night."

"So you figured if you couldn't have her, you could have the ten grand."

"Yeah. When Swafford saw that I was watching them out on the pier he freaked out, started yelling that it was a setup. I hit him over the head with a metal pole that was there. Clarissa said she was going to go to the cops and turn herself in…said she couldn't deal with facing the family and she was going to tell about my part in it." He shook his head. "I found some wire that was hanging from one of the speakers on the pier and wrapped it…" The stockbroker fell apart again. "I strangled her with it and tied her to a couple of blocks. She was a tiny little thing, you know? Didn't figure it would take much to keep her down on the bottom." He swiped at his nose again. "Swafford was still out so I took part of the wire that was still there with some of her hair on it and put it on him. Make it look like he had done it in case she was found." Michael let out with a loud wail at that point. "God, what have I done?! He was my brother…my brother." Matt's eyes were full of tears as he looked back up at Marchetti who seemed to be in shock.

There was a knock at the door and a patrolman stuck his head inside. "Detective, Mr. Novelli's lawyer is here."

Marchetti and Houston left the room and while the cop talked with his lieutenant about picking up Scott Sage, Matt stood looking out the window. Returning, he put on his vest and looked at the PI. "I'm guessing you want to be in on this?" Nodding, he took the offered vest from the cop and fell into step with him as they headed out with a pair of patrolmen to bring in Paulie's killer.

Sage was at his home, in the middle of having a tea party with his two young daughters when Matt and Marchetti arrived. He didn't put up any kind of fight at all and seemed completely surprised that they were there. On the way back to the station the PI couldn't believe that it had been so easy to pick up the man.

While Michael consulted with the lawyer, Sage consulted with his, and a statement was being taken from Phillip Xerxes by another detective, Matt and Marchetti went back out to the squad room where the PI drifted over to the window and looked out over the busy street below. It never ceased to amaze him even after all of the murder cases he had worked: life continued to go on. Looking down at the cars and people moving along the street it seemed to him as if the whole world were nothing more than an ant hill, and the people ants; one or two ants or even a hundred could get killed and it didn't matter – life went on. His thoughts were interrupted by Marchetti who brought him a cup of coffee.

"There's a little more than coffee in there." He gave the PI a knowing look. "After that…" Shrugging he took a sip. "I don't know about you, but I could sure use a belt."

"Thanks." Matt's mind shifted gears. "I've still got to tell his family what happened." Looking down into the foam cup he swirled the liquid around, getting a slight hint of bourbon from the steam. After a moment of silence between the pair, Matt downed the liquid all at once. "Do you need me here right now?"

"No, I uh…" Marchetti looked out the window a minute. "I can take care of things right now, but I'll need you to sign some reports. That can be later though. You just…" He shook his head. "You take care of your family." The cop looked up at him. "It's perfectly clear that they _are_ your family – and they're going to need you now for sure. I'll get somebody to take you back to the hotel."

"Thank you." Matt held out his hand and the pair shook.

Half an hour later Matt exited an undercover car and thanked the driver outside of the Clariday Arms. He looked upwards at the top floor where he would be going. While the elevator rose slowly to the penthouse suite, he could feel his heart sinking lower and lower. Swiping his keycard he entered the suite where everyone was sitting around, without much conversation. CJ, looking up as he came through the door, knew instinctively that he had bad news and went to him, automatically wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug. "Are you okay?" She pulled back and looked up into his eyes, knowing that he was extremely upset.

"Not really." Taking her by the hand he entered the living room and looked at the five boys there. "Guys, I need you to go back to your room now." Although there were questioning looks, they did as he asked without a word. Going back behind the bar, Matt poured himself a drink, something that everyone in the room knew rarely happened anymore. He took a couple of sips of it before crossing the room. "I've got something to tell y'all…" He started. All the way over from the station he had tried to plan out what he would say, but it was completely gone from his mind. "I…" He felt his eyes stinging and swallowed hard, trying to stay calm. "There's no easy way to say this." Walking across the room he set the drink down on the coffee table and knelt down at Mama's feet, taking her hand as he took a breath and began telling her what would probably be the worst news she would ever receive, all the while wishing that it wasn't him that was having to be the messenger.


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11**

Tuesday afternoon Paul Mariano Novelli was laid to rest while all the members of his family stood by with the exception of his brother Michael. As Matt and CJ stood at the graveside with the rest of the family, the familiar "Amazing Grace" was played with the traditional bagpipes, the flag was folded, a volley fired from the rifles of the honor guard, and then it was over. As Roy escorted Rosa and CJ to the waiting limousine Matt, Vince, and Tony stood by as Paulie's casket was slowly lowered into the ground and then the earth was put back into the hole. The thought occurred to Matt as he watched the operation that it always seemed to take more to fill the hole in than what had been dug out even though there was the addition of a casket, and he couldn't help but compare that to the hole that must be in the hearts of the Novellis at that moment. One of them was dead, and another faced an uncertain future – at least fifteen to twenty five years of his life would be taken away from him, possibly more, to make up for his crimes. But those years weren't just being taken away from him – they were also being taken away from his family. That thought had never entered the PI's mind before. Rosa Novelli had not just lost one son, but might never see Michael again either. She had gone to visit him and had held up well under the pressure, but it was obviously taking a toll on her. The usually bright and smiling face was drawn and pale; her laughter and joy of life wasn't to be seen or heard. What had happened was going to be a permanent wound to her heart.

As they headed for the airport, everyone was quiet. The boys, normally excited to be flying and with their Uncle Matt and Aunt CJ were subdued – young Tony most of all. He had barely spoken a word since learning the truth of what had happened and everyone was worried about him. After getting the jet into the air and getting past the worst of the traffic in the area, Matt had gone to the door of the cockpit and called the eleven year old to him and re-claimed his seat behind the yoke of the G-550. "Close the door behind you." Tony did as he was told and came to stand behind his uncle's seat. "Come sit down, bud." Matt indicated the seat to his right and the boy sat, neither one speaking for a minute. Turning in his seat to face the boy, Houston looked at him. "You know, I believe you've shot up an inch or two in the last week, pard." He tried to give the boy a smile. "Tony…" Starting in, he knew what his heart wanted to say but the words wouldn't find their way to his mouth. "I'm sorry. I…I would give anything in this world to have kept something like this from happening."

"It isn't your fault." The boy looked up at the man that he not only considered his uncle but his hero.

"No, but I feel bad anyway." The PI sighed. "I'm probably not going to say this right. Look, the whole thing sucks, but you've got to move on…let go of the anger. It won't do you any good to carry it around with you. Things like that just…they build up and then there's an explosion. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah." Tony looked down at his hands. "I just…I don't know how to just let it go. Grandma and Uncle Tony keep telling me to pray, but it doesn't _do_ anything."

"It takes time, bud. You can't keep hate and anger bottled up inside. I'm not saying it'll be gone in a day or two or even a month or two. But you've got to try to let it out." He put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"How…how do you do it?" Tony looked up at him. "I mean – all the stuff you've been through and you just…you're always smiling and happy."

"No, I'm not."

"When I see you, you are."

"That's because when you see me I'm happy because you're there." He looked around outside the cockpit and checked the radar. "What is your heart telling you, bud?"

"I don't know…I'm all mixed up. On one hand I want to strangle Uncle Michael with my bare hands, but even when I punched him the other day it didn't make me feel better…it just made it worse. And things will never be the same again. I… I don't want to be a wimp and cry…" There was a catch in is throat.

"Crying doesn't make you a wimp." Matt looked at him. "CJ taught me that a few years back when Daddy died." He gave Tony a sad smile. "It just makes you human, Tony. It's okay. Look, your dad cried didn't he?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know Uncle Roy cried when we were on the way to pick you guys up?"

"No."

"He did." Tony thought of Roy as a grandfather and knew how tough the elder Houston was. "It's okay, bud. If that's what it takes to give yourself some peace – let it go." He was surprised as Tony threw his arms around his neck and let loose, letting all of the hate, anger, and fear that he had been keeping bottled up for the last week out, his sobs finally turning to hiccups as the tide of emotion washed over him and Matt held on tight. He sat back down in the seat and swiped at tears as Matt handed him a bandana.

After drying his eyes and blowing his nose he started to hand the piece of material back to his uncle who just shook his head, turned back to check the radar once again, then began chuckling. "What?"

"Why does everybody snot their nose on my bandana and then try to give it back to me? Never fails." He looked over at the boy and both began laughing. "See? It didn't hurt you to laugh, did it?"

"No." Tony sighed and looked around the cockpit. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Wanna take the controls?" He cut his eyes over at the boy who simply nodded and took the yoke into his hands as Matt turned off the auto-pilot, the two continuing to talk as they flew along.


End file.
